J? 


0>vx^< 


Q.^^. 


t 


Wild  Life 

tN  TUE 

F  A  K     WEST; 

PERSONAL  ADVENTURES 


COMPRISING 

Hunting    and    Trapping    Adventures    with    Kit    Carson    and 

others;    Captivity    and    Life   among    the    Comanehes; 

Services    under    Doniphan    in    the   "War   with 

Mexico,     and     in    the    Mexican    "War 

against  the  French;  Desperate 

Combats  with  Apaches, 

Grizzly    Bears, 

etc.,   etc. 


By  Captain  JAMES  HOBBS, 

OF  CALIFORNIA. 


IXjLXTSTE-^TEID  -with  3Sr-Cr3ytES.O"U-S   EITG-E-^VIJSTG-S. 

Fublislied.    t>y    Subscription    Only. 


HARTFORD,    CONN.: 

WILEY,   WATERMAN  &    EATON. 

F.  A.  HUTCHINSON  &  CO.,  ST.  LOUIS,  MO. ;  CHICAGO,  ILL.  ;   CINCIN- 
NATI,  O.— A.  L.  BANCROFT  &  CO.,  SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL, 

1874. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872,  by 

WILEY,  WATERMAN  &  EATON, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


pnEss  or 
WILEY,  WATP:RMAN  &  EATON, 

UAUTFORD,   CONN. 


Hfo5W 


INTRODUCTION. 


IN  presenting  this  work  to  the  public,  it  is  not  the 
intention  of  the  publishers  to  add  another  to  the 
already  numerous  histories  of  the  parts  of  countr}' 
which  are  the  scene  of  the  adventures  herein  recited, 
but  to  give  what  the  title  page  promises,  an  account  of 
the  personal  adventures  of  the  author  during  a  long 
and  wild  life  in  the  far  West.  He  belongs  to  that  class 
of  pioneers  and  trappers,  now  become  neafly  extinct,  of 
which  the  famed  Kit  Carson,  who  was  for  many  years 
the  companion  of  the  author,  has  been  considered 
the  most  perfect  type. 

In  addition  to  his  experiences  as  a  hunter  and  trapper, 
we  have  an  account  of  his  life  as  a  prisoner  among  the 
powerful  and  warlike  Comanches,  his  adventures  as  a 
trader  in  Mexico,  his  services  as  interpreter  and  guide, 
under  Doniphan,  in  our  war  v^dth  Mexico,  and  with 
the  Liberals  in  the  Franco-Mexican  war  as  Captain  of 
artillery,  as  well  as  his  experience  in  mining  in  the  days 
of  the  "forty-niners"  in  California,  and  elsewhere. 

Probably  no  man  living  has  passed  through  so  varied 
and  exciting  a  life  as  this  one.  At  times  he  has  stn^med 
on  the  high  road  to  fortune,  wlien  by  a  turn  of  the 
wheel  he  would  find  himself  penniless.     But  in  what- 


4  INTKODUCTIOJSr. 

ever  condition  he  was,  lie  was  always  ready  to  respond 
to  any  call  for  aid  from  the  famishing  emigrant  train 
who  were  lost  on  the  great  plains,  or  the  settlers  who 
were  in  peril  from  the  remorseless  cruelty  of  the 
savages. 

In  writing  out  the  incidents  of  this  strangely  event- 
ful life,  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  put  them  in  glow- 
ing colors,  but  we  have  the  account  in  few  words. 
There  are  many  incidents  and  descriptions  that  occupy 
but  part  of  a  page,  which  could  easily  have  been  spread 
over  several  pages  ;  but  the  fact  is  there.  Had  as 
many  words  been  used  to  say  as  little  as  there  are  in 
many  books,  it  would  have  required  several  volumes 
the  size  of  this  to  have  contained  the  account  of  the 
author' s  experiences. 

One  tiling  the  author  wishes  distinctly  understood  ; 
he  has  in  no  case  ' '  drawn  u]Don  his  imagination  for  his 
facts."  There  are  a  few  incidents  given  upon  what  he 
considers  reliable  information,  and  they  are  so  desig- 
nated ;  but  nearly  all  is  from  his  own  experience.  As 
he  never  contemplated  the  publication  of  his  adven- 
tures, he  kept  no  diary  or  record  of  events,  but  relies 
entirely  upon  his  memory,  which  prevents  his  giving 
exact  dates  in  all  cases.  But  this  does  not  affect  his 
own  acts,  and  as  has  been  stated,  this  is  not  intended 
for  a  history. 

THE  PUBLISHERS. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

1.  Chromo,  Author  as  a  Comanche,      -        .        .     Frontispiece. 

2.  Warlike  Exercises  op  Com.vnches, 27 

3.  Comanche  "Warrior,  (Tail-piece,) 31 

4.  Co.MANCiiES  Moving, 38 

5.  Indian  Welcome,  (Tail-piece,) 50 

6.  Bringing  Meat  into.  Camp, 55 

7.  Fandango, 63 

8.  Indian  on  Guard,  (Tail-piece,) 66 

9.  Comic  Bull  Fioiit, 79 

10.  Indian  Scout,  Enemies,  (Tail-piece,) 100 

11.  Combat  WITH  Indian  Chief, 1.51 

12.  A  Horn  too  much, I57 

13.  Monterey  and  Buena  Yista, 161 

14.  ^Iatamoras,  (Tail-piece,)     .......  I68 

15.  General  Taylor, I73 

16.  The  Greaser's  Mistake,       -        -     •  .        .        .        .        .  igS 

17.  Castle  of  San  Juan  d*  Ulloa,  (Tail-piece,)    -        -        -      1S8 

18.  Great  Square,  Mexico, -        -  197 

19.  The  Last  Arrow,  (Tail-piece,) 215 

^0.  Fatal  Encounter  with  Grizzly  Bear,        -        .        .        .  229 

21.  Rancheros, 269 

22.  Execution  OF  Maximilian,    -        -        -        -        -        -        -311 

23.  Corpus  Ciiristi,  (Tail-piece,) 312 

24.  Playing  A  Lone  Hand, 319 

25.  Cavalry  Vidette,  (Tailpiece,) 356 

26.  Mexican  Robbers,  (Tail-piece,) 374 

27.  An  Unwelcome  Visitor, 389 

28.  Mr.  Jones  in  a  Deer  Trap, 395 

29.  Apache  Courtesies,  (Tail-piece,)     -        -        .        -        -      411 

30.  Hunting  the  Be.\r,  (Tail-piece,) 438 

31.  CoMANCiiES  Catching  Wild  Houses,  ....      451 

32.  Lasso  Fkiht  with  Elk, 473 

33.  Novel  Barricade,     -        - -481 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Birth-Place.  Death  of  my  Mother.  Occupations  of  my  Boy- 
hood. Start  out  with  a  Trapping  and  Trading  Company. 
Description  of  Bent  and  Savery.  Spiebuck  and  the  Shawnees, 
An  Attack  by  Pawnees.  Meet  a  Party  of  Sacs  and  Americans. 
Pursue  a  Buffalo  Cow.  Captured  by  Comanches.  "  Old 
Wolf  "  and  his  Suspicions  of  our  Brandy.  Four  Texans,  Pris- 
oners of  the  Tribe.  Savage  Watchfulness.  A  Council  to 
Decide  our  Fate.  Fate  of  Mexicans  previously  Captured. 
Comanches,  their  Dress  and  Habits.  Join  a  War  Party  against 
the  Pawnees.  Sad  Reflections  on  passing  the  Place  of  my 
Capture.  Surprise  a  Party  of  Pawnees.  "  Sj^otted  Fawn " 
given  me  as  a  Wife.  Marriage  Ceremony.  Surprise  of  the 
Indians  at  sight  of  Negroes.    -        -        -        .        -        -        -    17 

CHAPTER    II. 

A  Raid  on  Mexicans.  Capture  of  Nathan  Martin.  Ceremonies 
at  the  Burial  of  Warriors.  Comanche  Worshij}.  The  War  Party's 
Report  to  the  Chief.  Indian  Surgery.  Winter  Occupations. 
Delight  of  Indians  at  being  Taught  the  use  of  a  Seine.  War 
Party  against  the  Apaches.  Winter  Sports.  Training  Young 
Warriors.  Winter  Occupations  of  Squaws.  Example  of  the 
Strong  Constitution  of  the  Squaws.  Use  made  of  Looking- 
Glass  by  Indians.  "  Moving  "  Incidents.  Annual  Feast.  Meet- 
ing with  Kit  Carson,  and  a  Description  of  Him.  "  Old 
Wolf"  Declines  to  Visit  Bent's  Fort.  Plans  laid  for  the  Coming 
Year.  Encounter  with  Pawnees.  Battle  with  Sioux.  Dancing 
over  Scalps.  Fight  with  Crow  Indians.  Raid  into  Mexico. 
Escape  of  Martin.  Entertain  the  Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes. 
"  Old  Wolfs  "  Friends  Advise  Him  to  Visit  Bent's  Fort.  June 
Feast  with  the  Cheyennes.  Visit  Bent's  Fort.  Batiste  and  Myself 
Ransomed.    Meeting  with  Old  Friends.    Peg-Leg  Smith  and 


O  CONTENTS. 

His  Characteristics.  "Old  Wolf  "  Surprised  by  a  Cannon.  Trad- 
ing. A.rrangcments  for  Future  Meetings.  Parting  with  Spot- 
ted Fawn.     The  Brown  Sisters. 32 

CHAPTER    III. 

Habits  of  Hunters  and  Trappers  at  Bent's  Fort.  Start  on  a 
Hunting  Trip  under  Lead  of  Kit  Carson.  Mclntire's  First  and 
Last  Bear  Hunt.  Bringing  Meat  into  Camp.  Capture  an  Old 
Crow  Squaw.  A  Crow  Chief  in  our  Camp.  Arrangements 
made  for  Trading  with  the  Crows.  Return  to  the  Fort  and 
start  on  another  Trip.  Meet  a  Number  of  Traders  at  Santa  Fe. 
Lead  a  Party  to  the  Relief  of  Speyers's  Train  at  the  Bone  Yard. 
Character  of  Mr.  Speyers.  Peg-Leg  Smith  in  his  Characteristic 
Humor.  Attend  a  Fandango.  Jealousy  of  the  Natives.  The 
Governor  Appealed  to.  Result  of  His  Joining  our  Party. 
Gabe  Allen.  Trouble  Between  the  Governor  and  Troops  from 
Chihuahua.     Start  with  Mr.  Speyers  for  Chihuahua.         -        -    51 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Unsuccessful  Attempt  of  Navajo  Indians  to  Stampede  our  Ani- 
mals. Dead  Man's  Plain.  Apaches  run  off  a  Large  Number  of 
our  Mules.  The  Pursuit  and  its  Hardships.  A  mule  for  Pro- 
vision. Animals  Recovered.  Return  to  Camp.  Treat  our 
Friends  to  "  Mule  Venison."  Given  up  for  Lost.  Handsomely 
Rewarded  for  our  Success.  Crossing  Dead  Man's  Plain.  Two 
Murdered  Mail  Carriers.  Arrival  at  the  Rio  Grande.  A  Black 
Stump  Causes  a  False  Alarm.  Shoot  a  Raider.  "  No  Black 
Stump  about  That."  Spiebuck's  Idea  of  Peace  with  Apaches. 
Dangerous  Ford  at  Paso  del  Norte.  Spiebuck's  Single-handed 
Fight  with  Apaches.  Chihuahua  Custom  House  Officials.  At- 
tend the  Fair  at  San  Juan.     Meet  with  a  party  of  Comanches.     67 

CHAPTER    V. 

James  Zirker.  An  Expedition  Planned  Against  the  Apaches  un- 
der Contract  with  the  Governor  of  Chihuahua.  The  "  Bull 
Pen."  Pursuit  of  Apaches.  Advance  on  an  Indian  Village. 
Plan  of  Attack.  Premature  Alarm  by  a  Negro.  A  General 
Engagement.  A  Stinging  Rebuke  to  Kirker.  The  Negro  Pun- 
ished for  Disobedience.  Scalping  the  Mexican  Guide.  Discov- 
ery of  Ancient  Ruins  and  Rich  Mines.    Celebrate  our  Success. 


CONTENTS.  9 

Spiebuck's  Idea  of  Hunting.  A  Prisoner's  Escape  from  mo  and 
Spichuck's  Indignation.  Arrival  and  Reception  at  Chiliualiua. 
Turnin<jf  over  the  Scalps.  Rescued  Women  and  Children 
Turned  over  to  the  Authorities.  A  Dinner  and  Ball  in  our 
Honor.  Settlement  with  a  Merchant.  Spiebuck  in  War  Paint. 
Division  of  Property.     Meet  with  Old  Friends.        -        -        -     81 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Decide  to  Visit  the  Comanches.  Visit  Bent's  Fort.  Mexican 
Thieves  on  the  Way,  Dispose  of  my  Spare  Mules.  Part  with 
my  Friends  and  start  alone  for  the  Comanches.  Troubled  by 
Wolves.  iSIanncr  of  Driving  them  Off.  Disappointed.  Recep- 
tion by  my  Old  Friends.  Distribute  my  Presents.  At  Home. 
Comanche  Hatred  of  Texans.  "  Old  Wolfs "  Friend  on  a 
Steamboat.  Decide  to  Return  to  ]\Iexico.  The  Cliiefs  Argu- 
ment to  Detain  IMe.  Parting  with  my  Family.  News  from  my 
Father's  Family.  Part  with  my  Escort  and  Proceed  to  Santa 
Fe.  Experiences  as  a  Freighter  and  Trader  in  Mexico. 
War  Declared  Between  the  United  States  and  Mexico.  My 
Property  Seized  for  the  Mexican  Army.  Interview  with  Santa 
Anna.  Settle  with  my  Teamsters,  Procure  a  jMexican  Costume 
and  start  for  Zacatecas.  Go  on  to  Durango.  Find  Friends  in 
Trouble.  Take  a  Letter  to  Col.  Doniphan.  A  One-Sided 
Horse  Trade.    Information  for  Col.  Doniphan.     The  Old  Flag.  101 

CHAPTER     VII. 

In  Danger  from  my  Friends.  Interview  with  the  Colonel.  Meet 
my  Brother  and  Col.  Owens.  Volunteer  for  Duty.  Death  of 
Col.  Owens.  Mexican  Officers  held  as  Hostages  for  Friends  in 
Durango.  March  for  Chihuahua.  Col.  Doniphan's  Laws. 
Friends  in  Durango  Released.  Execution  of  the  Colonel's  Laws. 
Meet  my  Friend  of  the  Horse  Trade. 125 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

Sent  by  Col.  Doniphan  as  a  Scout.  Carry  Dispatches  to  Gov. 
Bent.  Quickest  Time  on  Record.  Bent's  Assassination  and 
Price's  Retaliation.  Sent  with  Dispatches  to  Fremont.  Return 
to  Chihuahua.  The  Regiment  Ordered  to  Saltillo.  Appointed 
Interpreter  for  the  Quartermaster.  Mexican  Thieves  and  their 
Fate.     The  Regiment  Provided  For.     Deatli  and  Burial  of  Cap- 


10  CONTENTS. 

tain  Reid.  A  Mexican  Well.  Indian  Cruelty.  Fight  with  In- 
dians. Lose  my  Favorite  Horse.  Liberate  Several  Captives. 
An  Indian  Troi^hy.  The  Regiment  Entertained  by  Mr.  Evarro. 
Johnny  Murphy's  Big  Drink.  Reception  of  Gen.  Wool.  Bat- 
tle Ground  of  Buena  "Vista.       ..-.--.  137 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Turning  over  Commissary  Stores,  «&c.,  to  Gen.  Taylor.  Interview 
with  the  General.  The  Regiment  Reviewed  by  Gen.  Taylor. 
The  Regiment  starts  for  Home.  Mexican  Guerrillas.  Texan 
Rangers.  Released  Guerrillas  Shot  by  the  Infuriated  Regi- 
ment. The  Battle  Ground  of  Resaca  de  la  Palma.  Animals 
sent  to  Missouri  with  an  Escort.  Reception  of  the  Regiment 
at  New  Orleans.    A  Masquerade  Ball.       -        -        -        -        -  160 

CHAPTER    X. 

Parting  Speech  of  Col.  Doniphan.  Complimented  Personally  by 
the  Colonel.  Liberal  Present  from  the  Quartermaster.  Depar- 
ture of  the  Regiment  for  Home.  Visit  to  my  Uncle.  Arrival 
and  Reception  of  Gen.  Taylor  at  New  Orleans.  Sent  in  Charge 
of  a  Vessel  to  Gen.  Worth  at  Vera  Cruz.  Trouble  with  the 
Captain.    Breaking  Mules.        -        -        .        -        -        -        -  169 

CHAPTER    XI. 

Peace  Declared.  Appointed  Head  Wagon  Master  of  a  Train  for 
Mexico.  Interview  with  Gen.  Twiggs.  Start  for  Mexico.  Bat- 
tle Field  of  Cerro  Gordo.  Arrival  at  the  City  of  Mexico.  In- 
terview with  Gen.  Worth.  Evacuation  of  Mexico.  Encamp 
near  Vera  Cruz.  A  Texan  Ranger  Sentenced  to  Death  for  an 
Act  of  Self-Defense.  Gen.  Twiggs  and  the  Rangers.  Visit  to 
the  Castle  of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa. 177 

CHAPTER     XII. 

Description  of  Vera  Cruz.  Take  a  Train  from  Vera  Cruz  to  Mex- 
ico. The  Castle  of  Perote.  Volcanoes  of  Orizaba  and  Popo- 
catepetl. The  Publanos.  The  Museum  at  Mexico.  The 
"  Trioya  Horse."  Cliurch  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  The  Arches  of 
Water.  St.  Patrick's  Guard.  Montezuma's  Stone  Almanac. 
Earthquakes.  Engagement  with  an  English  Mining  Company. 
Adroitness  of  Mexican  Thieves.    Experience  in  Blasting.     An 


CONTENTS.  11 

Explosion.     Success  in  Mining.     An  Unsuccessful  Mining  Ven- 
ture.    Extensive  Mines  of  the  English  Company.  -        -        -  189 

CHAPTER     XIII. 

An  Attack  of  Gold  Fever.  Start  for  California.  Aguas  Cali- 
entes.  The  Mayos  and  Yaguis.  Villa  Del  Fuerte.  Strange 
food  of  the  Mayos.  Relieve  Several  Cholera  Patients.  Grati- 
tude of  the  Tribe.  Ceres  Indians.  Embark  in  a  Cattle  Specu- 
lation. Find  Water  in  Tracking  Thieves.  Fort  Yuma  and  an 
Outrageous  Ferry  Company.  Retribution  by  Outraged  In- 
dians.          -  205 

CHAPTER    XIV. 

Indians'  First  Sight  of  a  Steamboat.  Crossing  a  Desert  Sixty 
Miles  AVide.  Loss  of  an  Emigrant  Train.  A  Mexican  Mur- 
dered by  Dave  Brown.  Arrive  at  El  Monte  and  Divide  our 
Stock.  Fate  of  Dave  Brown.  Hire  a  Man  to  take  my  Stock 
to  San  Jose.  Meet  with  Gabe  Allen  and  Peg-Leg  Smith. 
Dispose  of  my  Cattle  at  San  Francisco.  Organize  a  Mining 
Party  and  go  to  Camp  Sonora.  An  Attempt  at  Blackmailing. 
A  ^Mining  Government  Organized.  Return  to  San  Francisco, 
and  my  Party  Leave  for  Mexico.  Quicksilver  Mine  and  Soda 
Spring.  Visit  to  Relatives.  A  Hunting  Expedition.  Aid  a 
Friend  in  Catching  a  Thief.  Narrow  Escape  from  a  Grizzly. 
Sad  Fate  of  One  of  our  Party. 216 

CHAPTER    XV. 

Engage  as  Interpreter  in  the  Land  Commissioner's  Office  at  San 
Francisco.  Mission  Dolores  and  a  Fraudulent  Attempt  to  Ob- 
tain the  Title  to  the  Land.  A  Vigilance  Committee.  Suicide 
of  Yankee  Sullivan.  A  "Well  Organ-ized  City.  Judge  Jenkins 
and  my  Mining  Experience  with  Him.  Practicing  ^Medicine. 
Trial  as  a  Quack.  Meet  with  Placa  de  Vega  and  Romero.  The 
Condition  of  Mexico  at  this  Time.  An  Uprising.  Gen.  Lan- 
berg.  Appointed  Captain.  Collect  Assessments.  A  Priest 
Brought  to  Terms.  Gen.  Garcia  ^Morales  comes  to  our  Assist- 
ance. Prei);u-ing  for  Active  Service.  Placed  in  Command  of 
the  Artillery. 229 


12  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XV. 

We  TJnite  with  Romero  at  Jlocarito.  Our  Ambuscade  Re- 
vealed by  the  Barking  of  a  Dog.  Engagement  with  Church 
Forces.  ^lorales  Wounded.  A  Hospital  Establislied.  Vakia- 
ble  Recruits.  Plan  to  Capture  a  Vessel  ia  the  Harbor  of  Mazat- 
lan.  ;Mistake  of  IVIorales.  Seizure  of  a  United  States  Vessel 
by  the  Church  Forces.     Demand  for  her  Release.     English  In-  } 

terference.  Our  Prizes  Taken  from  us  by  an  English  Man  of- 
War.  A  Colored  Picket.  Strategy  of  Morales.  Junction  with 
Coranow,  Capture  of  Mazatlan.  Presented  with  a  Marine 
Saber.  Prisoners  Escape  with  One  of  our  Vessels.  Recapture 
of  our  Vessel  and  Bombardment  of  San  Bias.  Expedition 
Against  Lozado.  Our  Leader,  Coranow,  Killed.  Sold  out  by 
Cordero,  His  Successor.  Return  to  Mazatlan.  Capture  and 
Execution  of  Cordero. 244 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

Capture  of  a  Merchantman  and  Valuable  Cargo.  Lose  our  Prize 
by  the  Treachery  of  De  Vega.  De  Vega  a  Defaulter.  Second 
Expedition  Against  Lozado,  History  of  Lozado,  Ordered  to 
join  Gen.  Zaragosa  at  Sayula.  Join  Zaragosa  and  Proceed  to 
Guadalaxara.  Mining  the  Enemy's  Barracks.  Escape  of  Mir- 
amon.  Col.  Cheeseman  Poisoned.  Ordered  to  Cinaloa.  En- 
gagements with  Lozado's  Warriors.  Rasing  Recruits.  Engage- 
ment with  the  Enemy  Under  Coghen.  Ordered  to  Mexico. 
Battles  by  the  Way.     Capture  of  Mexico.         -        -        -        -  263 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

War  Declared  by  France  Against  Mexico.  Engagement  near 
Puebla,  I  am  Wounded,  Taken  to  Mexico.  Death  of  Gen. 
Zaragosa,  and  Gen.  Arteaga  as  Commander,  Return  to  Mazat- 
lan. Treachery  of  Lanberg.  Sent  to  Altata  to  Intercept 
French  Recruits,  Capture  and  Exchange  of  Prisoners,  Cap- 
ture of  a  Steamer  with  Supplies.  Land  at  Guaymas,  Start  for 
Hermosillo.  Primitive  Navigation.  Join  Col.  Corea.  Taken 
Prisoner.  Escape  by  the  Aid  of  the  Guard.  Rebuke  to  Col. 
Corea.  Sent  by  Gov.  Pesquiera  to  Confer  with  Col.  Lewis, 
Ordered  to  Sonora,  Capture  of  Magdalena,  Skirmish  with 
Tannery.  Lanberg  Joins  Maximilian.  Encouraging  Incidents. 
Drawn  Battle  with  Gen,  Lanberg.    A  Rich  Prisoner.    Benefits 


CONTENTS.  13 

of  Strategy.     Battle  near  Ures.     Death  of  Lanberg.     State  of 
Affairs.       - 270 

CHAPTER      XIX. 

Maximilian''3  Black  Flag  Decree.  Juarez  in  the  United  States. 
French  Troops  AVithdrawn  from  Mexico.  Ordered  to  March  on 
Guaynius.  Capture  of  the  Indian,  Tannery.  Shooting  of 
Traitors.  Friendship  of  United  States  Naval  Officers.  The 
War  Ended  in  Sonora.  Trouble  with  Martinez.  Ordered  to 
Mazatlan,  and  from  Thence  to  Zacatecas.  Battle  -with  Lozado. 
Explanations.  Condition  of  Affairs  in  the  Spring  of  18G7. 
Battle  of  Queretaro.  Surrender  of  Maximilian.  Interview  of 
Maximilian  with  Juarez  and  the  Doctors.  The  Execution  of 
Maximilian,   Miramon    and   Mejia.     Entry    into  Mexico.        -  299 

CHAPTER    XX. 

Expedition  Against  Marquez  at  Oaxaca.  His  Flight  without  a 
Battle.  ]Mutiny.  Ordered  to  the  Mountains  of  Allico  to  At- 
tack Lozado.  I  Resign  my  Captaincy.  Paid  for  my  Services 
by  Gov.  Pesquiera.  Visit  Fort  Tubac.  "  Peaceable  "  Indians. 
Seven  to  One.  Exchanging  Shots.  Incredulity  Convinced.  A 
Surgical  Operation.  Examples  of  Apache  Cruelty.  A  Valua- 
able  Bullet.  Unsuccessful  Gold  Hunting.  Lieutenant  Wil- 
liams and  his  Apache  Ward.  An  Emigrant  Train  Attacked  by 
Indians.  Emma  Brown  and  her  Escape  from  Apaches.  Kind- 
ness of  United  States  Officers. 313 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

Miss  Holliday's  Rescue  from  Indians.  Her  ^Marriage  with  the 
Commander  of  the  Troops.  Obliged  to  Leave  for  California. 
Mexican  Depravity.  A  Surgical  Operation.  Sleet  Nathan 
;Martin  and  my  Cousin.  My  Uncle's  JIassacre  by  Mormons. 
Join  a  Party  to  Pursue  Mormon  Horse  Thieves.  Prospecting 
with  Brown  and  Bennett.  Danger  of  Shooting  Cubs.  An  Im- 
portant Discovery.  Accident  to  'Mi:  Bennett.  An  Unpleasant 
Night.  Mr.  Bennett's  Effects.  Dishonesty  of  Brown.  An  Af- 
fray with  Brown.       -        -        .        -  ....  323 


14  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XXII. 

Go  to  the  Owen's  River  Mines.  How  the  Cerro  Gordo  Mines 
were  Discovered.  Engaged  in  Smelting  Ores.  Death  Valley. 
Gun  Sight  Lode.  Return  to  Cerro  Gordo.  Supplied  with  Pro- 
visions by  Mmers.  Honn's  Idea  of  "Whiskey  and  Flour.  A 
Visit  from  a  Pah  Utah.  Deserted  by  our  Guide.  Meet  an  Old 
Squaw  who  shows  us  "Water.  Joined  by  two  Americans  who 
Escaped  an  Indian  Massacre.  Unsuccessful  Search  for  the 
Copeland  Brothers.  Mr.  "Wilson's  Revenge.  "White  Mountain 
Mines.  Owen's  Lake.  A  Family  Killed  by  Pah  Utahs.  A 
Husband's  Desperation.    Treaty  with  Pah  Utahs.     -        -        -  340 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

Disappearance  of  Hog  Rogers.  A  Faithful  Dog.  Finding  of 
Roger's  Body.  A  "Wolf  in  Sheep's  Clothing.  Attempt  at 
Bribery.  Recovery  of  Stolen  Property.  Restraining  a  Mob. 
Delaney's  Trial  and  Confession.  The  Execution.  An  Appro- 
priate Nickname.       ..-- 357 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

California  in  its  Early  Days.  Joaquin  Murietta  and  Three- 
Fingered  Jack.  Breaking  a  Bank.  Murietta  Refuses  to  Sur- 
render Himself.  A  Company  Organized  for  his  Capture. 
Death  of  Murietta.  His  Wife  Identifies  his  Head.  The  Last 
of  the  Gang.  Large  Amount  of  Property  Recovered.  An  Or- 
der to  Restrain  Outlaw  s. -  365 

CHAPTER      XXV. 

I  Engage  as  Guide  to  an  Exploring  Expedition  in  the  Vicinity  of 
Death  Valley.  Remains  of  a  Murdered  Mining  Company.  Ac- 
count of  their  Massacre.  Digger  Indians.  A  Rabbit  Hunt. 
Return  to  California.  Pinon  Trees  and  Nuts.  Capture  of  an 
Indian  Child.  Prospecting  near  the  Colorado  River.  Hot 
Springs.  Summary  of  Mining  Experiences.  Mining  in  Lower 
California.  Pursuing  Indians  who  had  Massacred  a  Mining 
Company.  The  Attack.  Jones  and  Patterson.  A  Good 
Month's  "Work.  Leave  the  Camp  to  Avoid  the  Deperadoes  our 
Success  had  Brought.  Driven  into  Trees  by  a  Grizzly.  Game 
too  Abundant.     Leave  for  Safety. 375 


CONTENTS.  16 

CHAPTER      XXVI. 

An  Interesting  Mexican  Family.  Jones's  Conversation  with  a 
Young  Lady  Interrupted.  Our  Friend  Patterson  Commits 
Matrimony.  Leave  our  Friends  and  go  to  La  Paz.  Pearl 
Divers.  Visit  Guaymas.  Amalgamation  Process.  Pimos  In- 
dians. Meeting  with  Apaches  on  our  Way  to  the  Opoto  Vil- 
lage. Dance  over  Apache  Scalps.  An  Indian's  Opinion  of 
Americans.  The  Publanos  and  some  of  their  Habits.  Saint's 
Week  at  Magdalena.  Plancha  La  Platus  Mines.  A  Mexican 
Girl  Rescued  from  Apaches  and  Restored  to  her  Friends.  A 
Timid  Major.     Taking  Receipts.    My  Opinion  of  Apaches.      -  391 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 

Visit  Penalto  ;Mines.  A  Vigilance  Committee  and  its  Acts.  Bea- 
ver Trapping  on  the  Gila  and  Colorado  Rivers.  Guide  to  a 
Party  from  Fort  Yuma  to  Sonora.  An  Interview  with  Gov. 
Pesquiera.  Sunday  Amusements.  Cure  a  ]\Iember  of  the 
Party  of  a  Rattlesnake's  Bite.  Establishing  a  Port  on  the 
Coast  of  Sonora.  Engagement  with  Robbers.  An  Outlaw 
Killed.     An  Escaped  Thief  Captured. 413 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

Poor  Inducements  for  Trapping.  Mining  Frauds.  Fight  Be- 
tween Indians  and  Lumliermen.  Death  to  Mule  Thieves.  Trip 
from  Fort  Yuma  to  Tucson.  Shooting  of  Apache  Mule 
Thieves.  Under  Arrest.  Avenging  a  Murder  by  Apaches. 
"Unpleasant  Traveling.  An  Interview  with  Col.  Thompson. 
Cow  Hills  Diggings.  Supplying  Game  to  Miners.  IMoet  Pat- 
terson and  his  Wife.  Supplying  Game  for  the  San  Francisco 
Market.  A  Brutal  Dog  Fight.  IIow  a  Huge  Grizzly  was 
Caught  Alive.    .        -        -        - 426 

CHAPTER     XXIX. 

A  Trip  to  the  San  Bernadino  Mountains.  Bums  kept  out  all 
Night  by  a  Bear.  A  Grand  Turkey  Shoot.  A  [Misanthrope. 
Trip  to  Fort  Mohave.  Error  of  a  Vigilance  Committee.  Start 
for  the  White  Pine  Mines.     Deserted  by  our  Guide.     Rescue  of 


16  CONTENTS. 

a  Mexican  Girl.  Mono  Lake  and  the  Grave  of  Kit  Carson's 
Daughter.  A  Disgusted  Dutchman.  Marriage  of  Burns  and 
the  Mexican  Girl. ---.  439 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

Catching  Wild  Horses.  Breaking  a  Horse,  A  Boastful  Chilian 
Comes  to  Grief,  Lead  a  Party  to  the  Rescue  of  Texan  Emi- 
grants. Prospecting  for  a  New  York  ComjDany.  Failure  of  the 
Company  to  come  to  Terms.  Jones  Declines  to  Join  me  in 
^lining,  but  Joins  a  Texan  "Widow  in  Housekeejjing.  A  Visit 
to  the  Comanches.  Comanches  and  their  Horses.  Lassoing 
Horses.  Creasing  Horses.  Return  to  California  and  Aid  a 
Party  of  Mexican  Shepherds  on  the  Route.         -         .         -         -  452 

CHAPTER    XXXI, 

A  Second  Trip  as  Guide  to  a  Surveying  Party  in  the  Vicinity  of 
Death  Valley.  Meeting  with  the  Lidians  who  Formerly  held 
Bums's  Wife  Captive.  Visit  San  Francisco.  An  Ex-Robber, 
Return  to  Tulare  County.  A  Trip  as  Guide  over  the  Sierra 
Nevadas.  A  Friend  in  Trouble,  Capture  of  a  Thief  and  Res- 
toration of  Property,  Execution  of  the  Thief.  Decide  to  Set- 
tle Down.  Stopping  a  Runaway  Team.  Catching  an  Elk. 
Sheep  Speculations.   ---------  464 

CHAPTER     XXXII. 

Omitted  Adventures,  Stage  Driving  Between  Zacatecas  and 
Agua  Calientes,  A  Bragging  Party  Quietly  Robbed.  Rob- 
bery of  a  Mule  Train.  Stage  Load  of  Englishmen  Attacked. 
Confession  of  a  Wounded  Robber.  A  Thieving  Community. 
My  Life  in  Danger  from  my  Escort.  Their  Plans  Frustrated. 
A  Novel  Barricade.  Comic  Bull  Fights  at  the  Fair  at 
San  Juan  De  Los  Lagos.  Fight  with  a  Grizzly  and  My  Life 
Saved  by  my  Dog.  A  Strange  Pet.  Lose  my  Dog  in  a  Fight 
with  a  California  Lion.    A  Material  Ghost.     Conclusion.  -  474 


WILD  LIFE  m  THE  FAR  WEST. 


CHAPTER  I. 


I  WAS  born  on  the  10th  of  May,  1819,  in  the  Shaw- 
nee Nation,  on  the  Big  Blue  creek,  a  tributary  of 
the  Missouri  river  and  about  twenty-three  miles  from 
Independence.  The  place  then  known  as  Indian  terri- 
tory is  now  better  known  as  Jackson  county,  Missouri. 

Being  one  of  a  pair  of  twins,  the  chief  care  of  me  de- 
volved on  a  ftiithful  old  negro  nurse  who  was  one  of 
my  father's  slaves.  My  twin  sister,  who  was  brought 
up  on  her  mother's  breast,  after  weaning,  looked  so 
much  whiter  than  I  that  my  tanned  and  sunburnt 
complexion  has  been  the  occasion  of  many  a  joke  from 
friends  who  laid  it  to  my  nursing  from  a  negro. 

My  mother  died  in  1825,  wlien  I  was  about  seven 
years  of  age.  My  father  married  his  second  wife  when 
I  was  about  thirteen  years  old,  and  she,  bemg  quite  a 
young  woman  and  high-spirited,  commenced  to  rule  the 
house  alter  she  had  introduced  the  first  one  of  a  second 
crop  of  children.  This  made  matters  very  uncomfort- 
able for  me,  but  I  contrived  to  amuse  myself  for  three 
years  longer  at  home  or  till  the  age  of  sixteen,  when  I 
struck  out  for  myself,  pretty  much  on  my  own  liook, 
resolved  to  hunt  for  furs  with  some  company,  or  hunt 
Indians,  or  do  any  thing  else  that  would  pay. 

While  working  on  my  father's  plantation  I  had  be- 
come familiar  ^\'ith  the  rifle  and  shot  gun,  and  indeed 

9. 


18  BENT  AND   SAVEEY. 

had  to  provide  nearly  all  tlie  meat  for  the  family  ;  but 
game  was  plenty  and  that  was  an  easy  task,  much 
easier  than  pleasing  the  mistress  who  took  no  pains  to 
give  me  any  educational  advantages.  Though  young, 
I  was  nearly  full  grown  when  I  found  an  excellent 
cliance  to  join  a  fur  company  that  had  just  started  out 
from  St.  Louis,  under  the  lead  of  Charles  Bent,  and 
were  going  out  to  a  fort  and  trading-post  called 
Bent's  Fort,  some  three  hundred  miles  south  of  Pike's 
Peak  on  Big  Arkansas  river.  The  party  consisted  of 
about  sixty  men.  The  more  prominent  hunters  were 
Charles  Beiit,  Guesso  Chauteau,  William  Savery,  and 
two  noted  Indian  trappers  named  Shawnee  Spiebuck, 
and  Shawnee  Jake.  Some  of  the  party  were  agents  of, 
and  interested  in,  the  Hudson' s  Bay  fur  company,  hav- 
ing their  head-quarters  at  St.  Louis.  This  was  in  1835'. 
As  I  shall  have  considerable  to  say  of  some  of  this  party, 
a  brief  description  of  them  may  be  of  interest  to  the 
reader. 

Charles  Bent,  the  leader  of  the  party,  and  a  mana- 
ger of  the  fur  business  at  Bent' s  Fort,  was  a  native  of  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  and  a  brother  of  the  famous  Captain  Bent 
who  originated  the  theory  called  the  "Thermal  Gate- 
ways to  the  Pole."  At  the  time  I  joined  his  party,  he 
was  about  thirty -five  years  of  age,  light  complexioned, 
heavily  built,  tending  to  corpulency.  In  all  my  ac- 
quaintance with  him  I  always  found  him  perfectly  up- 
right in  his  dealings,  both  with  his  party  and  the  Indi- 
ans. He  commanded  the  confidence  and  respect  of  all 
the  tribes  he  dealt  with,  and  his  honorable  treatment  of 
them  prevented  violence  on  their  part. 

Savery,  who  was  next  in  interest  to  Bent  was  a 
French  Canadian  a  few  years  younger  than  Bent,  and 
like  him  was  a  very  fair  and  honorable  man  in  all  his 


SPIEBUCK.  19 

dealings.  These  two  men  were  well  calculated  for  In- 
dian traders,  for  tliey  were  respected  as  honest  men, 
and  would  never  furnish  intoxicating  liquors  to  the 
Indians  for  the  purpose  of  making  more  advantageous 
bargains  with  them, 

Spiebuck  was  a  noble  looking  Indian,  full  six  feet 
high,  had  a  high  forehead,  Roman  nose,  malicious 
looking  black  eye,  and  was  rather  lighter  colored  than 
most  of  the  Shawnees  who  composed  the  party,  who 
were  all  large,  well-built  men.  He  spoke  English 
fluently,  having  been  educated  at  a  mission-school 
in  Missouri.  He  retained,  however,  many  of  the  In- 
dian peculiarities,  among  them  his  fondness  for  liquor 
and  his  roving  disposition,  so  that  we  never  could  keep 
him  at  one  thing  long  at  a  time.  He  was  the  best  shot 
mth  a  rifle,  at  long  range,  I  ever  saw. 

The  Shawnees  of  the  party  wore  buckskin  pants  and 
hunting-shirt,  vidth  fringes  of  buckskin  strings  along 
the  seams  of  the  legs  and  sleeves.  They  nearly  all 
could  speak  English,  but  when  by  themselves  they 
usually  employed  their  own  language.  They  were 
quiet  and  peaceable  except  when  under  the  influence 
of  liquor ;  then  they  needed  just  such  a  man  as  Bent 
to  restrain  them  and  keep  them  within  bounds. 

Most  of  the  white  trappers  wore  a  dress  similar  to 
that  of  the  Shawnees,  on  account  of  its  great  durabili- 
ty, as  it  would  last  from  three  to  four  years,  notwith- 
standing the  very  hard  usage  it  received. 

The  prospect  to  me  was  very  pleasing.  We  were  all 
mounted  on  horses,  having  some  led  mules  and  half  a 
dozen  one  and  two-horse  carts  to  haul  our  provisions 
and  bring  in  our  furs,  &c.  It  was  a  wihl  and  lonely 
tramp.  Before  ua  were  the  vast  plains,  unbroken  ex- 
cept here  and  there  with  a  belt  of  timber,  and  we  were 


20  ATTACKED   BY   PAWNEES. 

follo^ving  a  mere  trail,  never  seeing  a  house  after  leav- 
ing Independence.     Mj^  capacity  in  the  company  was 
that  of  hunter,  to  provide  fresh  meat  we  needed  on  the 
route.     John  Batiste,  a  boy  about  my  age,  was  mule- 
packer.     We  had  proceeded,  witliout  adventure,  until 
the  night  after  crossing  Pawnee  Fork,  between  five  and 
six  hundred  miles  from  Independence,  our  point  of  de- 
parture.    We  crossed  the  fork,  staked  out  our  animals 
and,  after  supper,  lay  down  in  the  tall  grass  that  cov- 
ered the  valley.     I  stood  guard  from  two  till  half-past 
three  in  the  morning,  and  when  one  of  the  company 
named  Spencer  had  taken  my  place,  the  six  on  guard 
had  all  been  changed.     About  daylight,  while  the  camp 
was  wraj)]Ded  in  slumber,  I  was  startled  out  of  my 
blanket  by  a  yelling,  stamping  of  horses'  feet,  cutting 
tent-ropes,  and  then  came  the  click  of  two  arro\^'s 
against  a  water  bucket  by  my  side.     We  sprang  to  our 
feet  and  seized  our  rifles,  amazed  to  discover  that  three 
or  four  hundred  Pawnee  Indians  had  crept  through 
the  long  grass,  surprised  our  guard  and  made  a  fierce 
assault  with  a  view  of  running  off  our  animals.     We 
were  not   slow  in  returning  their  fire   and   soon  the 
savages  were  driven  into  a  corner  where  a  precipitous 
ledge  prevented  their  retreat.     Finding  it  difficult  to 
create  a  stampede  among  our  horses  and  mules,  and 
seeing  us  all  well  armed,  the  Indians  took  to  the  river 
in  front  of  us  and  swam  over.     I  broke  one  red-skin's 
back  with  a  bullet  as  he  was  climbing  the  opposite 
bank,  and  three  others  were  killed.     Our  party  were 
more  frightened  than  hurt,  though  one  or  two  were 
pierced  ^\ith  arrows.     At  that  early  period  guns  and 
ammunition  had  not  been  freely  sold  by  Indian  agen- 
cies to  these  hostile  western  tribes,  and  their  principal 
weapon  was  the  bow  and  arrow.     After  this  our  party 


MEKTIXG    A    I»AKTV    OF    AMERICANS    AND    SACS.       21 

kept  a  stronger  guard  tiiid  looked   out  for  uiglit   sur- 
prises. 

I  had  littl(3  difficulty  in  keeping  the  company  sup- 
plied with  meat,  as  there  were  great  numbers  of 
buffalo,  antelope,  deer,  elk,  &c.,  on  the  plains  at  that 
time. 

After  traveling  about  one  hundred  and  twenty -five 
miles  further,  we  met  at  Big  Coon  creek  a  party  of 
about  three  hundred  Sacs  with  twenty -five  or  thirty 
Americans.  These  Sac  Indians  were  friendly,  and 
weve  taking  one  hundred  and  fifty  buffalo  calves  to 
Missouri  to  raise  for  English  purchasers.  These  calves 
had  been  given  to  cows  whose  calves  had  been  killed 
to  make  room  for  these  liumj)-backed  strangers.  Be- 
sides these  calves  the  party  had  3^oung  grey  wolves, 
elk,  and  antelopes. 

We  camped  and  feasted  together  four  days,  fishing 
for  trout  in  Coon  creek,  hunting  deer,  &c.,  and  at  night 
(jarousing  around,  drinking  lic|uor,  and  liavmg  a  good 
time  generally. 

The  reader  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  men  who  en- 
gaged in  expeditions  of  the  kind  we  were  on,  were  not 
noted  for  their  total  abstinence,  any  more  than  the  rep- 
resentative sailor,  having  the  same  roving  and  frolick- 
ing nature. 

Their  party  was  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Fitz- 
liughes,  and  he  had  taken  the  Sacs  as  a  protection  to 
his  American  party.  He  warned  us  that  tlu^re  were 
signs  of  Indians  before  us,  though  he  could  not  say 
what  tribe.  About  four  days  after  leaving  our  friends 
we  arrived  at  the  "Caches," a  camping  ])lace  on  th(^  l)anks 
of  the  Big  Arkansas  river,  deriving  its  name  from  the 
fact  that  a  number  of  wagons  had  been  broken  down 
in  that  neighborhood  and  the  provisions  and  goods 


22  PURSUIT   OF   A  BUFFALO   COW. 

"cached,"  or  stored  there  for  safe  keeping  till  they 
could  rej)air  damages. 

The  next  morning  after  leaving  this  camping 
ground,  our  attention  was  attracted  by  a  distant  smoke 
among  some  sand  hills  on  the  left  side  of  the  Arkansas. 
Our  suspicions  were  that  the  smoke  proceeded  from 
Indians  and  was,  perhaps,  a  hostile  signal  to  notify 
other  Indians  of  our  approach. 

We  continued  on  our  route  and  as  our  party  moved 
slowly,  only  fifteen  miles  per  day,  and  as  I  hunted  on 
horseback,  it  gave  me  plenty  of  time.  I  killed  three 
buffaloes  that  day,  one  of  which,  being  old  and  tough, 
was  abandoned  after  our  boys  had  skinned  him.  The 
last  one  I  shot  was  a  fat  buffalo  cow  which  ran  across 
the  trail  in  front  of  our  train  late  in  the  afternoon.  I 
dashed  after  her  wounding  her  with  my  pistols,  and 
she  swam  across  the  river  in  the  direction  of  the 
smoke.  I  started  to  the  rear  of  the  train  for  my  Haw- 
kins rifle,  the  men  laughing  at  me  for  lettmg  the  cow 
escape. 

"Don't  try  to  follow  that  cow,"  said  Bent,  "she  is 
going  straight  for  that  smoke  and  it  means  'Injun'  and 
no  good  in  'em  either." 

"But  I'll  get  her,"  I  answered,  for  I  was  mad  on  ac- 
count of  some  of  the  boys  laughing  at  me. 

"Get  your  pack  mule,"  said  I  to  my  young  friend. 
Batiste,  "and  we'll  fetch  that  buffalo  back." 

"All  right,"  he  answered,  and  we  crossed  the  river. 
I  went  ahead,  and  about  three  miles  from  the  train 
came  up  with  the  cow.  She  turned  and  showed  fight. 
I  galloped  around  her  several  times,  finally  getting  in  a 
good  sliot  which  killed  her.  Jumping  off  my  horse  I 
began  cutting  off  the  choice  pieces  for  use  in  camp, 
young  Batiste  helping  me  and  loading  his  mule  until, 


LOST   IX   THE   DARKNESS.  23 

suddeiil}',  it  was  dusk  and  we  were  in  doubt  wliicli 
way  to  return  to  our  train.  It  was  very  soon  pitch- 
dark,  so  we  could  not  discern  tlie  tracks  by  which  we 
liad  come,  nor  could  we  see  the  few  Cottonwoods  that 
lined  the  river,  relieving  the  barren  plain,  and  only  at 
intervals  could  we  see  the  stars. 

"Jolni,"said  I,  "this  running  around  the  buffalo  has 
bewildered  me,  but  I  think  yonder  is  the  way  back." 

"No,"  replied  John,  "I  know  the  way  I  came,  fol- 
low me,"  starting  off  in  a  different  direction  from  what 
I  proposed. 

We  traveled  in  this  dismal  fog  and  darkness,  occa- 
sionally stopping  to  hear,  if  possible,  some  signal  from 
our  friends  who  we  vainly  hoped  would  be  out  looking 
for  us.  Nothing  but  the  sound  of  a  distant  wolf,  or 
night  owl  screeching,  to  break  the  stillness,  when  we 
stopped  about  ten  o'clock,  and  said  I,  "John,  we  are 
going  wrong.  We  have  come  at  least  ten  miles  and 
the  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to  stay  here  all  night."  It 
was  September  and  we  slept  comfortably  enough,  ex- 
cerpt being  disturbed  in  the  middle  of  the  night  by  grey 
w^olves,  who,  snuffing  our  meat  from  a  distance,  came 
prowling  around  us.  We  had  kindled  a  fire,  very 
luckily,  before  going  to  sleep,  and  knowing  the  habits 
of  these  "varmints,"  I  made  them  scatter  by  flashing 
powder  in  our  fire,  and  we  were  left  in  peace  the  bal- 
ance of  the  night. 

About  sunrise  we  awoke  and  looking  around  for  our 
train,  to  our  amazement,  could  not  even  see  the  Cot- 
tonwoods that  marked  the  bank  of  the  river  up  which 
our  train  was  moving. 

We  had  been  going  away  from  the  river  on  account 
of  John's  injudicious  advice  and  want  of  experience. 
So  we  turned  and  retraced  our  steps  as  rapidly  as  our 


24  CAPTURED   BY     COMANCHES. 

loads  would  permit,  and  were  traveling  along  cheerful- 
ly, when  a  large  herd  of  bufflilo  appeared  and  dashed 
along  towards  us,  passing  us  at  a  fearful  rate,  as 
tliough  terribly  frightened. 

"That  means  hunters  or  Indians,"  said  I,  and  still 
tliey  came  thundering  past,  probably  two  thousand  in 
number,  filling  the  ah  with  dust,  and  we  discovered 
that  they  were  closely  followed  by  Indians,  shooting 
arrows  into  them  and  piercing  them  with  lances. 

"To  that  little  hollow,  to  that  little  hollow,"  I  ex- 
claimed to  John,  "throw  away  the  meat  and  make  for 
that  hollow  we  just  passed." 

Batiste  didnH  need  any  urging,  but  we  both  wheeled 
and  rode  for  tlie  hollow,  hoping  to  reach  it  before  we 
were  seen. 

Descending  the  little  ravine  we  looked  back  to  see 
if  we  were  safe  and  were  astonished  to  see  nine  "Co- 
manches"  close  behind  us. 

' '  How  d'  ye  do  ? "  said  a  stalwart  chief  in  good  English. 

"How  d'ye  do"  I  replied  for  politeness'  sake,  but 
the  state  of  his  health  was  a  matter  of  little  concern  to 
me  just  then. 

"Texas?"  (They  hated  Texans  and  it  was  well  I 
answered,) 

"No,  friendly,  going  to  establish  a  trading  post  with 
the  Comanches  and  other  Indians." 

"Friendly?  better  go  with  us  awhUe,  though.  Got 
any  tobacco?" 

I  had  a  little  old  clay  pipe  and  Batiste  had  another, 
which  we  gave  them  with  some  tobacco,  and  they  took 
us  in  tow,  starting  for  their  camp  where  we  arrived 
late  that  afternoon,  our  escort  having  swelled  from 
the  nine  who  captured  us  to  about  a  thousand.  They 
gave  us  some  cooked  buffalo  meat  and  afterwards  es- 


"old  wolf"  suspicious.  25 

corted  us  to  the  hoad-quarters  of  their  tribe,  introduc- 
ing us  to  "Okl  Wolf,"  the  head  chief. 

*'  Old  Wolf"  was  a  large  and  very  tall  Indian,  with 
a  Roman  nos*^  high  forehead,  and  hair  falling  down  to 
his  hips,  braided  in  plaits,  and  ornanu^nted  with  rings 
an  inch  mde,  put  on  at  intervals.  Tliese  rings  were 
ornaments  peculiar  to  him,  as  no  otlier  member  of  the 
tribe  ever  wore  them.  When  he  wished  to  make  an 
unusually  rich  toilet,  he  wore  on  his  breast  a  large, 
highly  polished,  copper  plate,  which  glistened  in  the 
sunlight  and  of  which  he  was  very  proud. 

Batiste  had  a  bottk?  of  brandy  hanging  on  the  horn 
of  his  saddle  and  mth  a  view  to  conciliate  the  old 
chief,  I  suggested  to  John  to  give  him  a  dram.  He 
was  suspicious  and  would  not  drink.  I  drank  some 
and  he  looked  me  steadily  in  the  eye.  I  then  handed 
the  bottle  to  him  but  still  he  doubted.  Batiste  took  a 
horn  cup  and  pouring  out  some  so  the  chief  could  see 
what  he  drank,  poured  down  a  good  "swig."  The 
chief  looked  at  him  steadily  fifteen  minutes,  then  tak- 
ing the  bottle  drank  down  its  contents,  like  water,  to 
the  last  drop.  He  was,  immediately,  the  happiest  In- 
dian I  ever  saw. 

We  had  traveled  forty  or  fifty  miles  that  day,  close- 
watched  and  guarded  by  our  captors,  but  without  any 
fear  of  bodily  injury,  as  the  Indians  acted  quite 
friendly.  The  chief  of  their  tribe,  "Old  Wolf"  al- 
ways staid  at  home,  moving  only  at  such  times  as  the 
tribe  traveled  bodily,  to  attend  the  annual  feasts  with 
friendly  tribes,  or  to  follow  the  buffaloes  as  they  mi- 
grated north  or  south,  for  he  was  an  old  man. 

He  had  a  son  called  chief  and  another  called  second 
chief.  Both  were  married  to  white  girls,  captives, 
named  Brown,  who  were  captured  in  Texas,  near  San 


26  FATE   or   MEXICAN   PRISOlSrERS. 

Antonio.  They  were  sisters  and  in  tlie  same  Indian 
village  were  their  two  brothers,  captured  at  the  same 
time,  one  named  Henry,  about  twelve  years  of  age,  and 
little  Jim,  hardly  seven  years  old.  They  had  been 
taken  about  four  years  before,  when  theii'  father,  moth- 
er and  two  elder  brothers  were  murdered.  The  girls 
were  now  about  eighteen  and  twenty -one  years  of  age. 
I  made  many  attempts  to  talk  with  them  but  was  al- 
w^ays  frustrated  by  savage  watchfulness.  The  little 
boy  could  only  say  Yes  or  No  in  English,  though  he 
could  speak  good  Indian,  as  could  his  brother  and  sis- 
ters. I  was  also  forbidden  any  conversation  mth  the 
boys,  but  I  learned  they  had  lived  near  Fort  Alamo, 
the  scene  of  Davy  Crockett' s  death. 

A  council  was  held,  soon  after  our  arrival,  to  decide 
on  the  disposition  of  John  and  myself ;  but  it  was  nec- 
essarily adjourned  till  the  next  morning,  because  "Old 
Wolf"  had  drank  too  much  of  our  brandy  and  talked 
himself  to  sleep  in  the  midst  of  the  council,  and  was 
not  competent  to  hear  the  report  of  our  captors.  As 
the  result  of  the  deliberations,  next  day,  the  captive, 
Henry,  was  instructed  to  inform  us  that  if  we  were  not 
Texans  and  would  be  good  and  not  run  away,  they 
would  not  kill  us  but  let  us  stay  with  them.  They, 
however,  pointed  to  some  dried  scalps  and  informed  us 
that  about  three  weeks  before,  three  Mexicans,  captured 
by  them  and  set  to  mind  their  stock,  had  attempted  to 
escape.  They  were  pursued  with  the  intention  of  bring- 
ing them  back,  but  it  was  finally  decided,  after  having  a 
long  chase,  to  bring  only  their  scalps,  and  they  should 
feel  compelled  to  do  the  same  by  us  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances. These  remarks  were  made  with  such 
grave  earnestness  that  we  decided  our  best  course  was 
to  keep  quiet  and  stay  with  the  Indians,  for  it  would 


C0MANCIIE9.  27 

be  madness  for  such  boys  as  we  were,  with  no  knowl- 
edge of  tlie  country,  to  attempt  to  reach  Fort  Bent  or 
to  return  to  Missouri. 

John  was  particuhirly  faithful.  I  went  out  with  the 
Indians,  and  hunted,  and  learned  to  catch  trout  with 
their  bone  fish-hooks.  But  John  never  stirred  from 
camp,  for  he  was  afraid  of  mistakes ;  he  might  be. 
going  from  camp  with  the  best  intention  to  return,  and 
lose  his  scalp,  as  the  Mexicans  did. 

Our  hosts  did  not  like  John  very  well,  though  they 
regarded  me  very  favorably.  The  Comanches  are  the 
most  powerful  of  all  the  tribes  of  North  American 
Indians.  Their  dress  differs  but  little  from  that  of  the 
Shawnees,  a  description  of  which  has  already  been 
given,  —  the  men  wearing  a  buckskin  hunting-shirt 
reaching  to  the  waist,  buckskin  pants  so  made  as  to 
require  a  breech-cloth,  as  the  pants  do  not  cover  the 
small  of  the  back,  and  moccasins.  The  women  wear  a 
backskin  petticoat  and  dress,  reaching  to  the  knee, 
pants  like  the  men,  and  buckskin  moccasins.  The 
dress  is  usually  fringed  and  the  moccasms  ornamented. 
The  moi'e  favored  often  add  a  handsome  blanket  to 
their  costume.  The  Comanches  are  superior  to  all 
other  tribes  in  horsemanship,  and  a  very  large  portion 
of  their  lives  is  spent  on  horseback.  They  have  a 
remarkable  fondness  for  horses,  and,  as  miglit  be  im- 
agini^d,  are  the  most  accomplished  horse-stealers  in  the 
world,  often  making  daring  raids,  the  replenishing  of 
theii'  stock  being  the  principal  object,  as  will  be  seen  in 
the  following  pages. 

At  the  end  of  three  months,  they  were  making  up 
a  war-party  to  go  against  the  Pa^^^le«>s,  and  requested 
Batiste  and  me  to  go  and  help  them  fight.  He  de- 
clined, but  I  accepted  the  invitation.     My  Hawkins 


28  SAD   EEFLECTIONS. 

rifle  was  returned  to  me,  and  we  started,  going  over 
the  same  route  we  liad  come  to  tlieir  camp.  We  even 
passed  the  very  spot  where  I  had  been  captured,  and 
also  where  I  killed  the  buffalo.  I  saw  tracks  of  shoe 
clad  feet  showing  that  our  white  friends  of  the  train 
had  searched  for  us,  and  must  have  seen  from  the 
Indian  foot-prints,  that  a  party  had  either  captured  or 
killed  us,  and  so,  giving  up  the  search,  had  gone 
on  their  way.  This  I  afterward  ascertained  to  be  the 
case,  and  that  I  was  returning  in  the  right  direction 
when  captured  by  the  Indian  hunters. 

My  reflections,  when  passing  these  familiar  spots, 
were  anything  but  pleasing.  Snatched  so  suddenly 
from  the  companionship  of  friendly  white  men,  who 
had  begun  to  look  upon  me,  though  a  mere  youth, 
as  an  important  and  valuable  assistant  in  their  fur 
business,  I  realized  that  I  had  lost  a  good  ojDportunity 
to  become  a  wealthy  fur-dealer  and  trapper.  They 
were  men  who  did  a  lieavy  business,  and  I  had  hoped 
to  prove  serviceable  to  them,  and  obtain  an  interest  in 
the  profits.  Now  my  hopes  were  blasted.  My  friends 
would  consider  me  dead  or  a  captive,  and  no  effort 
would  be  made  to  find  me  by  my  relatives  or  any  one 
else.  How  far  these  disappointments,  or  how  much 
this  ill-luck  has  influenced  my  after  course  or  made 
me  the  roving  adventurer  that  I  have  been,  I  leave  the 
reader  to  judge. 

Our  force  moved  onward  rapidly  to  the  Big  Arkansas 
river,  just  a  little  below  "The Caches,"  where  we  sur- 
prised a])out  two  hundred  Pawnees,  who  were  camped 
in  a  wild-plum  thicket.  They  feared  the  Comanches, 
and  undertook  to  escape  by  swimming  the  river.  I 
had  an  old  grudge  against  the  Pawnees  for  their  attack 
on  our  fur-train  previously  ;  and,  nerved  with  a  desire 


"  SPOTTED   FAWN."  29 

to  sliow  our  Comanclie  braves  that  I  was  interested 
somewhat,  and  wanted  a  liaiid  in,  I  drew  a  bead  on 
a  Pawnee  wlio  was  out  in  tlie  middh:!  of  tlie  stream, 
and,  with  a  yell,  he  went  to  the  bottom.  The  Conian- 
ches  rushed  into  the  river,  secured  the  body,  took  off 
the  scalji,  and  returned  to  their  village,  as  the  river 
was  high,  and  they  did  not  choose  to  ford  it  at  the  risk 
of  their  lives.  Several  of  the  Pawniees  were  drowned 
in  the  attempt  to  escape  across  the  river ;  but  the  only 
trophy  secured  in  the  way  of  a  scalp  came  from  the 
head  of  the  Pawnee  who  happened  to  be  in  range 
of  my  rifle. 

Upon  our  arrival  back  in  camp,  "  Old  Wolf"  helped 
me  oft*  the  horse  himself,  hugged  me,  and  said  I  had  a 
big  heart,  but  John  had  a  little  heart,  because  he 
would  not  go  and  fight.  A  procession  was  formed" 
and  the  Indian  who  had  the  Pawnee  scalp  led  off, 
while  I  was  second,  the  chiefs  following,  with  the 
warriors  in  the  rear;  after  which  there  was  a  big 
dance  and  j)ow-wow.  "Old  Wolf"  brought  out  his 
daughter,  a  really  beautiful  Indian  girl  about  my  own 
age,  with  whom  I  had  become  slightly  acquainted,  and 
offered  her  to  me  for  a  wife !  Of  course  I  consented ; 
what  else  could  I  do?  —  and  the  wedding  was  arranged 
to  take  place  instanter.  The  old  priest,  whose  age  was 
over  a  hundred  by  the  moons  he  had  notched  on  his 
cane,  united  us  in  the  bonds  of  matrimony  at  once. 
He  repeatm  the  marriage  ceremon}',  which  was  unin- 
telligible to  me,  and,  placing  on  my  finger  a  ring  made 
of  buffalo  horn,  and  a  similar  ring  on  her  fore-finger, 
bade  us  change  rings.  And  thus  "  Sjiotted  Fawn" 
became  my  wife,  and  proved  loving  and  affectionate ; 
and  I  have  no  doubt  she  remains  faithful  to  me  to 
this  day,  though  I  have  not  seen  her  for  years.     All 


30  NEGRO  PRISONERS. 

their  marriages  are  by  consent  of  tlie  chief;  and  their 
women  are  loyal  and  obedient,  considering  their  mar- 
riage vows  sacred  and  binding  till  death  shall  part 
them.  The  men  are  also  true  to  their  wives,  as  a 
general  thing,  and  any  breach  of  good  morals  is  pun- 
ishable by  whipping,  and  sometimes,  where  the  offense 
is  aggravated,  the  criminal  is  cut  to  pieces  with 
knives.  Their  notions  of  virtue  and  morality  are, 
in  some  respects,  in  advance  of  more  civilized  com- 
munities. 

About  three  months  after  my  marriage,  six  negroes 
were  brought  into  camp  as  captives.  They  had  run 
away  from  their  Cherokee  masters,  and  were  trying  to 
reach  Mexico  when  the  Comanches  picked  them  up. 
Five  were  on  horses  that  were  too  wretchedly  poor  for 
crow-baits,  and  one  negro  on  foot.  When  they  came 
into  camp  under  guard,  they  were  so  badly  scared  as  to 
turn  ashy  pale!  Seeing  me,  they  called  out,  "For 
God's  sake,  massa!  please  don't  let  'em  kill  us!"  I 
promised  them  they  should  not  be  hurt.  These  negroes 
were  a  great  curiosity  to  "  Old  Wolf,"  who  had  never 
seen  one  of  that  race  before.  He  came  to  me  for  an 
explanation.  "What  kind  of  people  are  these?" 
said  he  ;  "  what  black '  em  for  ?  what  swinge  hair  for  ? ' ' 
"Not  blacked,"  I  answered;  "hair  not  swinged; 
born  so."  Tliis  he  would  not  believe  till  he  had 
rubbed  his  fingers  over  their  faces,  and  then  examined 
the  ends  of  them,  to  the  amazement  and  terror  of  the 
poor  captives.  He  also  plucked  at  their  wool,  in  the 
endeavor  to  ascertain  how  it  got  so  kinky.  The  whole 
nation  flocked  to  see  these  human  curiosities,  and 
crowded  around  them,  raising  uncontrollable  terror 
in  the  minds  of  the  negroes.  When  they  saw  them 
coming,  old   "Josh,"   their  leader,  cried  out,    "Now 


CAPTIVES   RELEASED. 


31 


they  's  gwine  to  kill  us  sure!  please  don't  let  'em, 
massa !     Gorra  mighty  !  Ise  afraid  of  'em !  " 

"  No,"  I  replied  ;  "  they  will  not  hurt  you.  Tliis  is 
the  old  chief,  a  greater  general  than  any  in  the  United 
States,  and  what  he  tells  you,  you  can  depend  on; 
and  I  am  his  son-in-law."     That  satisfied  them. 

On  the  eighth  day  after  their  arrival,  "Old  Wolf" 
told  them  they  had  rested  long  enough,  and  must 
leave.  He  gave  them  buffalo  robes  to  sleep  on,  a 
supply  of  buffalo  meat,  fresh  horses  to  ride,  and  an 
escort  of  eight  Indians ;  and  my  wife  gave  old  "  Josh  " 
a  pair  of  moccasins,  for  which  he  stuttered  out  many 
thanks.  The  negroes  seemed  to  have  more  confidence 
in  me  than  in  their  escort;  but  I  calmed  their  fears, 
and  they  started.  Four  days  afterward,  the  escort 
returned,  having  conducted  their  charge  into  the  main 
road  to  Mexico. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ABOUT  two  montlis  after  the  incidents  related  in 
tlie  last  cliapter,  I  accomijanied  a  war-party  of 
four  hundred  Comanches  down  on  the  Rio  Grande,  to 
a  place  called  Monclova,  over  three  hundred  miles 
from  where  our  Comanche  nation  were  encamped.  We 
had  a  battle  with  the  Mexicans ;  after  surrounding  and 
attacking  the  town  of  some  two  thousand  inhabitants, 
fort}'  or  fifty  Mexicans  were  killed  and  twenty  scalps 
taken.  Attending  our  ]mrty,  and  foremost  in  this 
light,  was  a  young  girl  of  our  tribe,  selected  for  her 
purity,  and  looked  upon  by  these  superstitious  war- 
riors as  an  angel  of  good  or  ill  luck.  Mounted  on 
a  fast  horse,  she  was  first  in  our  charge,  or  in  advance 
(as  soldiers  say)  of  the  line  of  battle.  She  was  skilled 
in  the  use  of  the  bow  and  arrow  and  handling  of  her 
horse,  and  to  her  boldness  and  cool  daring  our  success 
was  partially  attributed. 

We  lost  four  of  our  warriors.  We  returned  with 
nine  Mexican  women  and  children  prisoners,  and  cap- 
tured fourteen  hundred  horses  and  mules,  making  a 
clean  sweep  of  all  such  animals  in  that  section  of 
country.  On  our  return,  we  picked  up,  at  the  Nueces 
river,  a  youth  of  seventeen  years,  named  Nathan 
Martin.  He  was  out  hunting  for  runaway  stock,  and, 
being  discovered  by  some  of  our  party,  was  pursued 
and  brought  in,  tc^rribly  frightened.  On  finding  that  I 
could  speak  English,  he  became  more  calm,  and,  in 
answer  to  my  questions,  stated  that  he  was  from  San 


FUNERAL   CEREMONIES.  33 

Antonio,  Texas.  I  instantly  warned  him  not  to  let 
tluit  be  known,  for  our  tribe  hated  the  Texans,  and 
would  be  sure  to  show  him  no  mercy,  if  they  knew  he 
was  from  Texas.  I  told  him  how  to  represent  to  them 
that  he  was  from  the  same  place  I  was,  and  to  show  no 
signs  of  fear,  as  they  would  be  much  more  likely 
to  spare  him,  if  he  appeared  brave.  He  followed  my 
advice,  and  was  treat<3d  kindly  by  the  tribe  during  his 
stay  with  them. 

This  was  one  hundred  miles  north  of  the  scene  or 
our  battle,  and  to  this  ])lace  the  four  dead  warriors 
were  brought,  that  their  remains  might  be  laid  to  rest 
within  the  boundaries  of  their  own  nation.  The  funeral 
ceremonies  hindered  us  here  half  a  day.  The  departed 
were  wrapped  in  buffalo  robes,  and  placed  on  scaffolds 
made  in  trees  as  high  as  we  could  go.  Their  bows  and 
arrows  were  laid  beside  them,  buffalo  meat  put  under 
their  heads,  and  finally  their  horses  were  killed  at  the 
foot  of  the  trees.  Then  the  warriors,  falling  on  their 
knees,  with  hands  uplifted  and  joined,  with  eyes  raised 
toward  the  sun  (which  is  th(nr  God,  or  Great  Spirit), 
murmured  in  low  tones  their  prayers  to  the  sun,  to 
take  the  bodies  of  their  departed  friends  up  to  his 
bosom,  and  happily  revive  them  in  the  heavenly  liunt- 
ing-grounds.  This  is  the  best  idea  they  have  of  any 
thing  spiritual.  They  believe  their  departed  brother, 
with  his  bow  and  arrows,  sitting  astride  the  horse  at 
the  foot  of  the  tree,  will  ascend  to  the  sun,  bearing  the 
provisions  placed  undc^r  his  head,  which  is  thought 
sufficient  to  last  him  through  his  upward  journey, 
at  the  end  of  which  he  is  expected  to  find  plenty. 
After  the  lapse  of  a  hundred  years,  he  will  return 
to  his  nation,  Avith  the  same  bow  and  arrows,  riding 
the  same  horse!  All  their  d(^ad, — men,  women,  and 
3 


34  EEPORT   OF   WAR-PARTY. 

children,  —  after  meeting  friends  in  the  sun  and  enjoy, 
ing  happiness  there,  must  return  at  the  end  of  a 
hundred  years,  and  thus  keep  up  the  population  and 
power  of  the  tribe.  All  the  Comanches  worship  the 
sun,  morning  and  evening.  At  sunrise  the  meA,  on 
their  knees,  with  their  faces  toward  the  sun,  hands 
elevated  and  joined,  pray  for  health  and  prosperity  in 
hunting.  At  sunset  the  women  pray  in  the  same 
manner  for  the  same  blessings.  This  was  the  daily 
custom  year  after  year,  and  probably  is  continued 
to  this  day. 

Upon  reaching  our  head-quarters,  the  chief,  my 
brother-in-law  (the  commander  of  the  war-parties), 
gave  orders  for  the  men  to  assemble  at  his  father's 
tent,  "Old  Wolf's"  lodge,  the  next  morning,  for  the 
purpose  of  making  our  report,  as  well  as  to  have  a 
jollification  over  the  scalps  and  prisoners  we  had  cap- 
tured. Our  expedition  had  occupied  several  months, 
being  delayed  by  hunting  and  branch  raids  in  diff'erent 
directions.  Our  report  to  "Old  Wolf"  was  made 
somewhat  as  follows;  All  of  the  war-party  sat  in  a 
circle  in  front  of  the  chief's  tent,  so  that  the  door 
of  the  tent  was  within  the  line  of  the  circle.  "Wolf" 
sat  in  the  doorway  on  a  buffalo  robe,  and  by  his  side 
his  son,  the  war-chief.  The  medicine  pipe  passed 
around  for  good  luck,  and  then,  in  a  loud  voice,  so 
that  all  the  four  hundred  warriors  could  hear  it,  every 
event  was  narrated  by  the  war-chief,  from  the  setting 
out  of  the  party  till  its  return.  During  this  narration 
there  was  the  most  profound  silence.  When  he  con- 
cluded he  asked  the  warriors  if  he  had  stated  the 
events  correctly.  These  reports  are  meant  to  be  very 
accurate,  but,  if  any  mistake  is  made,  the  warriors 
correct  it. 


SURGERY.  35 

After  this  ceremony  was  ended,  three  amputations 
were  made  by  the  cliief  s  surgeon.  Two  of  our  war- 
party  had  each  a  leg  sliattered  and  one  an  arm.  They 
were  brought  back  to  camp  from  the  scene  of  our  late 
fight  on  buffalo  robes,  bolstered  up  on  horses  that  were 
led  by  others,  and  must  have  endured  much  suiSering, 
but  nothing  compared  to  the  final  amputation,  which 
was  barbarous.  The  old  surgeon,  with  a  butcher-knife 
and  a  saw  made  of  a  piece  of  hoop-iron,  cut  off  the 
limbs,  seared  the  stumps  with  a  hot  iron,  and  bound 
over  them  a  poultice  made  of  a  pulverized  bark,  some- 
what resembling  oak  or  slippery  elm,  which  they 
always  carry  with  them.  The  victims  of  these  rough 
operations  each  held  a  bullet  in  his  teeth,  convulsively 
hugged  one  of  the  Indians  holding  him,  and  gave  vent 
to  some  slight  groans,  but,  on  the  whole,  bore  it  man- 
fully. They  all  recovered  in  due  time.  After  the 
surgical  operation  was  over,  there  was  a  general  ca- 
rousal over  the  scalps,  and  a  council  held  to  make 
a  proper  disposition  of  our  prisoners.  The  women 
and  children  captured  were  finally  disposed  of  by 
being  adopted  in  various  lodges  through  tlie  tribe. 

I  had  now  been  with  the  Indians  about  a  year. 
Cold  weather  was  again  approaching,  and  w(3  began 
preparations  for  winter.  The  squaws  sally  forth  in 
the  fall,  gathering  acorns  and  pine-nuts.  The  acorns, 
being  pulverized  in  stone  mortars  to  the  fineness  of 
meal,  make  a  kind  of  mush  when  boih^d,  which  goes 
very  well  with  their  meat.  In  summer  they  secure 
wild  currants,  gooseberries,  plums,  and  cherries,  which 
they  dry  for  winter  use.  They  have  vessels  for  cooking 
and  carrying  water,  made  out  of  clay  and  baked  in 
kilns  by  the  squaws. 

The  fruits  and  nuts  having  been  provided,  and  the 


36  BUFFALO   IIUKTING. 

season  for  buffalo  hunting  being  at  hand,  some  of  the 
squaws  accompany  the  warriors  out  to  assist  in  buffalo 
packing,  &c.  These  animals  move  southward  in  large 
droves  in  the  fall,  naturally  dreading  the  deep  snows 
of  the  plains.  Our  tribe  of  Comanches  were  often  very 
successful  in  the  hunt,  sometimes  killing  a  thousand 
in  the  fall.  They  went  out,  armed  with  bows  and 
arrows,  mounted  on  their  best  horses  or  mules.  There 
was  a  precipice  several  hundred  feet  high  on  the  bank 
of  the  Little  Red  river,  and  back  of  this  precipice  was 
a  i)lain  which  was  often  covered  with  buffalo.  By 
surrounding  a  drove,  getting  them  into  a  panic,  and 
heading  them  for  the  river,  they  would  rush  over 
this  high  precipice  in  crowds.  Our  squaws  would 
assist  in  skinning  them,  cut  up  the  meat  into  strips, 
salt  it  (with  salt  gathered  from  several  natural  salt- 
springs  and  deposits  in  the  vicinity),  dry  it  in  twists, 
with  a  streak  of  lean  and  fat  together,  and  put  these 
twists  into  square  bales  for  packing.  They  scraped 
the  hides  with  the  rib-bone  of  a  deer  or  elk,  and 
dressed  them  with  the  buffalo  brains.  There  were 
always  more  or  less  deer,  elk,  and  antelope  crowded 
over  the  precipice  with  the  buffaloes,  and  the  meat  was 
preserved  and  skins  dressed  in  the  same  way.  The 
buckskin  is  dressed  for  clothing  by  them  m  such  a 
manner  that  wetting  does  not  stiffen  it. 

Fish  are  also  caught  in  the  fall  and  salted  or  dried 
for  winter  use.  For  this  purpose  a  hook  is  used,  made 
of  a  small  short  bone  about  an  inch  long  (for  trout), 
baited  with  a  grasshopper,  and  hung  in  the  center. 
They  also  shoot  them  with  arrows.  I  taught  them 
how  to  catch  fish  with  a  seine,  which  greatly  pleased 
them,  and  for  tliis  purpose  we  used  buffalo  hides 
stitched  together,  with  innumerable  holes  cut  in  them. 


TRAINING   YOUNG   WARRIORS.  37 

This  they  tliought  splendid  fun,  hauling  in  enormous 
quantities  of  bass,  trout, 'perch,  &c. 

About  Christinas,  a  party  of  five  hundred  Comanches 
M'ent  down  into  Mexico  and  attacked  the  Apaches,  who, 
being  friendly  with  the  Mexicans,  retreated  about  sixty 
miles  to  the  Mexican  village  of  Passo  del  Norte.  Some 
Mexicans  were  killed,  and  the  party  returned  toward 
spring,  after  an  absence  of  three  months,  with  four  or 
live  Mexican  women  and  children,  one  young  Apache 
squaw,  and  eighty  Ai:)aclie  scalps.  They  also  brought 
over  a  thousand  head  of  mules  and  horses.  Tliis  was 
a  grand  triumph  for  our  tribe,  and  they  danced  over  it 
a  week.  I  did  not  go  with  them  on  that  trip,  but, 
judging  from  what  they  told  me,  the  distance  was 
about  three  hundred  miles. 

We  spent  the  remainder  of  the  cold  season  in  hunting 
buffalo  and  other  animals  in  small  parties.  Among  the 
winter  sports  are  wrestling  matches,  running  foot-races, 
jumping,  and  horse-racing.  At  their  horse-races,  they 
frequently  stake  their  horses,  and  their  stakes,  whatever 
they  are,  are  always  paid  without  any  grumbling. 

The  young  Comanches  (oftentimes  the  lads  not  over 
fifteen  years  of  age)  were  educated  and  trained  for  the 
war-path  in  an  amusing  way.  Two  deer  or  wolf  skins 
—  sewed  together,  and  cut  somewhat  in  the  shape  and 
about  the  size  of  a  man  —  are  stretched  on  bushes,  one 
such  image  on  each  side  of  the  track  to  be  raced  over. 
Mounted  on  horses  fleet  as  the  wind,  these  boys  go 
back  three  or  four  hundred  yards.  The  horses  are 
started,  and  come  down  the  track  at  full  speed,  and,  in 
passing  the  target,  the  young  warrior  must  shoot  an 
arrow  through  it,  by  throwing  himself  on  the  side 
of  his  horse,  his  weight  held  by  his  heel  against  the 
rear  projection  of  his  saddle.     His  left  arm,  with  a 


38  OCCUPATIONS   OF   SQUAWS. 

sliield  on  it,  is  thrown  over  the  horse' s  neck,  grasping 
the  bow,  with  the  arrow  in  his  right  hand ;  he  must 
send  the  arrow  through  the  target  while  passing.  This 
is  practiced  in  shooting  with  both  the  right  and  left 
hands.  Bets  are  made  on  the  young  warriors,  as  to 
excellence  of  shooting.  Eight  and  left  thrusts  with 
lances  are  practiced  in  the  same  way. 

The  women  of  the  Comanche  tribe  are  busy  in  the 
winter  months  at  various  kinds  of  employment.  Tliey 
cook,  and  wash,  and  make  up  garments  with  great 
skill,  — for  needles  using  awls  made  of  thorns  or  sharp 
bones;  for  thread  they  procure  their  material  from 
a  species  of  wild  flax,  which  is  pounded  and  rotted 
and  twdsted  into  thread,  though  they  often  used  the 
sinews  of  wild  animals.  They  were  dexterous  in  the 
manufacture  of  clothing  for  themselves,  their  hus- 
bands, and  children,  making  them  up  from  skins  they 
had  dressed  or  tanned  themselves,  often  ornamenting 
them  with  beads  procured  from  the  Mexicans  or  shells 
found  in  the  river  bottoms.  They  were  generally  a 
good-looking,  hardy  set  of  squaws,  and  made  good, 
faithful  wives. 

Their  good  health  and  toughness  of  constitution  may 
be  inferred  from  their  system  of  midwifery,  which  was 
very  simple,  and  not  at  all  like  that  of  our  delicate 
American  ladies.  When  the  eventful  period  arrives, 
the  Comanche  squaw  proceeds  alone  to  a  clump  of 
willows  or  bushes  by  the  banks  of  a  stream,  and, 
entirely  unattended,  performs  all  the  necessary  offices 
or  duties,  goes  into  the  water  and  bathes  herself  and 
infant,  wraps  the  babe  in  a  wolf  or  other  skin,  and 
carries  the  little  stranger  back  to  camp,  suspended  on 
her  back  by  a  strap  which  passes  over  her  forehead  or 
around  her  neck. 


MOVING   INCIDENTS.  39 

Tliere  is  a  use  made  of  looking-glasses  sometimes  in 
battle  that  was  rather  ludicrous.  A  Comanche  will 
give  a  horse  for  a  piece  of  a  mirror.  This  he  fastens  in 
a  shield,  and  is  often  able  to  dazzle  the  eyes  of  an 
enemy  taking  aim  at  him,  and  thus  cause  his  shot 
to  go  harmlessly  wide  of  its  mark.  In  pillaging  the 
houses  of  people  living  out  on  the  frontier,  such  relics 
were  often  obtained  and  brought  home  as  very  valuable 
trophies.  If  an  unlucky  trapper  or  emigrant,  who 
happened  to  fall  into  their  hands,  had  a  hand-mirror 
for  shaving  and  a  silver  watch,  the  mirror  was  prized 
as  much  the  most  valuable,  for  its  wonderful  reflecting 
properties  ;  while  the  watch  would,  perhaps,  be  broken 
up,  and  the  pieces  made  into  nose  or  ear  ornaments  for 
the  squaws  and  papooses. 

In  June,  our  chief  told  us  we  were  all  to  meet  the 
Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes,  at  the  annual  feast  usually 
held  in  common  by  these  three  tribes.  Then  com- 
menced the  operation  of  moving ;  a  long  pole  strapped 
to  each  side  of  a  horse  or  mule,  with  a  platform  made 
on  the  parts  dragging  behind,  sufficed  to  transport  our 
tents  and  children.  The  squaws  packed  the  horses 
and  mules,  and  carried  all  that  was  not  transported  on 
the  platforms.  Many  of  the  dogs  belonging  to  the 
squaws  are  also  made  to  do  service,  in  "moving  time," 
a  small  platform  being  arranged  in  the  same  manner  as 
for  the  horses.  Some  of  them  will  not  submit  to  this 
treatment,  and  worry  those  that  otherwise  would,  and 
many  fights,  often  including  the  squaws  who  side  with 
their  respective  dogs,  are  the  result.  The  warriors, 
who  ride  on  the  flanks  of  the  procession,  leaving  the 
pack-train  to  the  care  of  the  squaws,  always  appear  to 
enjoy  these  little  differences  very  much.  Then  the 
whole  tribe  of  twenty  thousand  men,   women,   and 


40      MEETING-  WITH  AKAPAHOES  AND  CHEYENNES. 

cliildi'en  got  ready  to  move.  (Tlie  number  of  the  tribe 
is,  of  course,  mucli  less  now  than  at  that  time.)  This 
required  but  little  preparation,  for  Indians  do  not 
scatter  out  and  leave  themselves  exposed  to  raids  and 
attacks.  They  build  their  villages  comj)actly,  setting 
their  tents  thickly  on  the  borders  of  some  stream, 
keeping  the  old  people  in  the  center.  These  old  men 
and  women  provide  fuel,  and  busy  themselves  making 
bows  and  arrows  for  the  use  of  the  warriors. 

We  had  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  to  go 
to  reach  the  feasting  ground,  which  was  on  the  Big 
Arkansas,  between  the  point  where  that  river  is 
crossed  by  the  Santa  Fe  road  and  Bent' s  Fort.  John 
Batiste  went  with  us,  of  course ;  but  this  was  the  first 
time  he  had  left  camp  since  his  capture.  On  the  first 
day  after  we  started,  his  horse  threw  him,  which 
created  a  general  laugh,  for  the  Indians  all  despised 
him,  and  would  have  taken  his  scalp  long  before,  if 
they  had  not  been  so  attached  to  me.  John  was  still 
unmarried,  having  never  asked  for  a  wife ;  for  he  well 
knew  that  none  of  the  squaws  would  look  with  favor 
upon  him,  as  he  was  such  a  coward. 

As  we  expected,  we  met  on  the  Big  Arkansas  about 
twenty  thousand  Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes,  these  two 
tribes  being  very  friendly  and  mixing  together.  To 
me  it  was  a  lively  scene,  as  I  gazed  on  foiiy  thousand 
people  assembled  in  one  grand  mass  meeting,  with 
their  tents  and  animals  spread  out  over  an  area  several 
miles  in  extent.  We  took  a  large  quantity  of  pro- 
visions with  us,  killing  some  game  on  the  way,  and 
sent  out  daily  hunting-parties,  to  provide  food  during 
the  feast. 

The  favorite  dish  of  the  Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes 
was  dog,  gelded  and  fattened,  which  they  cooked  in 


BALL   PLAYING.  41 

covered  i)its  in  the  eartli,  tlie  bottoms  of  wliicli  were 
covered  witli  burning  coals  and  red-hot  stones.  The 
Comanehes  do  not  eat  dog  at  home,  but  with  these  two 
friendly  tribes,  at  their  feasts,  they  partake.  I  never 
tried  tlie  flavor  of  the  animal. 

Upon  our  arrival,  "Old  Wolf"  introduced  me  to 
the  Arapahoe  chief,  telling  him  I  was  his  son-in-law ; 
said  I  was  a  brave  fellow,  reciting  the  killing  of  the 
Pawnee  and  the  trip  to  Mexico ;  and  then,  pointing  to 
John,  said  he  had  a  littl(3  heart  and  never  stirred 
out  of  camp.  Kit  Carson  and  I  have  since  had  many 
a  laugh  at  John  Batiste  about  his  little  heart ;  for  we 
three  had  many  an  adventure  after  that  on  the  plains 
together. 

The  feast  continued  ten  or  fifteen  days,  and  was 
enlivened  by  running  horse-races,  foot-races,  and  by 
playing  ball.  In  tliese  races  and  games,  the  Coman- 
ehes bet  horses  against  the  Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes, 
and  almost  always  win,  so  that,  by  the  time  the  great 
feast  is  over,  those  two  tribes  are  afoot!  But  "Old 
Wolf"  alwaj^s  gave  them  back  a  number  of  horses  to 
go  home  with,  and  the  different  tribes  went  each  their 
way  in  good  humor  and  the  best  of  spirits.  The  game 
of  ball  was  played  with  crooked  sticks,  and  is  very 
much  like  our  "shinney."  The  players  are  dressed 
with  a  simple  breech-cloth  and  moccasins,  and  the 
game  is  always  played  with  enthusiasm,  and  affords 
much  amusement.  They  choose  sides,  and  put  up 
stakes  on  the  result  of  these  ball-games,  as  well  as 
on  the  foot-races.  As  a  spectator  among  these  igno- 
rant savages,  I  was  highly  amused  and  interested  by 
these  hnrniless  festivities. 

The  eighth  day  of  the  feast,  I  saw  a  white  man 
coming  toward  our  chiefs  tent,  in  company  with  a 


42  KIT   CAESOlSr. 

number  of  Clieyennes.  "  Jolin,"  said  I  to  Batiste, 
"they  are  bringing  in  a  white  man."  They  came  to 
"Old  Wolf,"  and  the  stranger,  seeing  me,  opened 
a  conversation,  which  I  translated  to  the  chief.  The 
new-comer  said  his  name  was  Kit  Carson.  He  was 
mounted  on  an  Indian  pony,  and  was  a  man  of  slight 
build,  small  in  stature,  with  long  flowing  hair,  light 
complexion,  with  a  piercing  grayish  eye,  inclined  tc 
blue;  and  altogether  his  appearance  was  such  that 
I  took  a  natural  liking  to  him.  Afterward,  in  my  long 
acquaintance  of  twelve  years  with  him,  I  noticed  that 
other  men,  even  the  Indians,  were  favorably  inclined  to 
Kit  at  first  sight.  I  found,  also,  that  he  was  a  superior 
shot  with  his  rifle  and  a  remarkable  rider,  being  familiar 
with  many  feats  of  horsemanship  learned  only  among 
the  Indians.  Either  he  or  I  could  with  ease  pick  up  a 
silver  dollar  from  the  ground,  when  going  at  full 
speed,  mounted  on  the  swiftest  pony.  We  often,  in 
idle  hours,  amused  ourselves  by  one  shooting  apples 
held  by  the  other  on  a  sharp  stick  two  or  three  inches 
in  length. 

Carson  said  he  was  an  old  friend  of  the  Cheyenne 
chief,  and  wanted  to  be  friendly  with  the  Comanches. 
He  was  a  member  of  a  trading  company  that  were 
encamped  not  far  from  Bent's  Fort,  and  he  said  he 
had  beads,  trinkets,  and  all  sorts  of  merchandise  for 
sale.  "Old  Wolf"  was  evidently  suspicious  and 
disposed  to  be  hostile.  He  did  not  like  to  have  me 
converse  with  Carson ;  but  I  got  a  chance  to  tell 
him  privately,  in  the  course  of  the  two  or  three  hours 
that  he  stopped  in  our  camp,  that  he  might  say  to 
the  people  at  the  fort,  that  John  and  I  who  were  lost 
at  "The  Caches,"  were  captives  there  among  the 
Indians.     He   said  he   had   heard   about   our    being 


BATTLES   WITH   PAWNEES   AND   SIOUX.  43 

missed  from  a  trappers'  train,  and  that  we  were  con- 
sidered as  dead  or  captives  among  some  Indians.  To 
see  us  alive  and  well  once  more,  was  a  very  agreeable 
surprise.  Kit  soon  left  our  camp,  and  returned  to  his 
trapping  company,  from  seventy-live  to  one  hundred 
miles  from  us,  up  the  Big  Arkansas.  Before  he  left, 
he  stated  that  "Peg-leg"  Smitli,  a  noted  tra^^per,  so 
called  from  his  having  a  wooden  leg,  and  Shawnee 
Spiebuck,  one  of  the  party  I  left  home  with,  were 
in  his  party,  and  he  had  left  them  back  in  camp,  to 
come  here  and  see  his  old  friend,  the  Cheyenne  chief, 
and,  if  possible,  to  trade  for  furs. 

At  the  end  of  the  feast,  the  three  chiefs — Comanche, 
Arapahoe,  and  Cheyenne — held  a  council,  in  which 
they  laid  plans  for  the  ensuing  year,  marking  out 
routes  for  hunting  and  war  parties,  so  they  should  not 
come  in  collision  with  each  other,  and  arranged  for  the 
next  feast,  to  be  given  on  Comanche  grounds  to  the 
Arapahoes  and  Cheyennes.  Then  our  whole  party 
started  down  the  Big  Arkansas. 

At  the  mouth  of  Ash  creek,  two  hundred  miles  from 
the  place  of  our  late  feast,  we  encountered  a  war-party 
of  Pawnees,  scalped  twenty -three,  and  took  all  their 
horses.  Thence,  going  up  to  the  head  of  Ash  creek, 
we  encamped,  sending  out  war-parties  occasionally. 
After  we  had  been  in  camp  here  about  a  month,  we  ' 
had  a  battle  with  the  Sioux  Indians,  and  here  the 
Comanches  were  again  victors.  There  were  about  four 
hundred  engaged  on  each  side,  and  we  lost  twenty-one 
of  our  warriors,  but  took  about  eighty  scalps,  while 
some  of  their  dead  were  carried  off  the  fi(>ld. 

After  burying  our  dead,  we  spent  about  two  months 
dancing  over  the  Sioux  scalps  and  doctoring  our 
wounded.     After  they  were  well  enough  to  move, 


44  ESCAPE   OF   MARTIN. 

we  went  with  a  large  war-party,  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles,  to  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  where  we 
had  an  encounter  with  the  Crow  Indians,  but  suffered 
small  loss  ourselves.  We  remained  in  that  vicinity 
about  a  mouth,  when  we  started  for  our  old  home, 
traveling  slowly,  and  killing  meat  on  our  way,  reach- 
ing home  in  November. 

After  laying  up  sufficient  provision  for  the  winter,  a 
war-party  of  five  hundred  was  organized  to  make  a 
raid  into  Mexico.  "  Old  Wolf"  asked  me  to  go ;  but 
I  excused  myself,  and  urged  Martin,  our  young  cap- 
tive, to  join  the  expedition.  He  consented,  and  they 
gave  him  a  horse  and  gun,  when  he  departed  with  the 
w^arriors,  after  smoking  the  medicine-pipe  all  around. 
I  had  some  suspicion  that  he  would  find  some  way 
to  escape.  On  the  return  of  the  warriors,  two  months 
afterward,  they  reported  that,  at  Cerro  Gordo,  some 
five  or  six  hundred  miles  distant,  they  were  in  the 
midst  of  a  fight  with  Mexican  troops,  into  which 
Martin  had  rushed  with  the  rest,  when  suddenly  they 
missed  him,  and  afterward  found  his  horse  among 
their  own.  They  supposed  him  to  be  killed;  but 
such  was  not  the  fact,  for,  within  a  few  years,  I 
have  seen  him  in  Los  Angeles  county,  California, 
where  he  is  keeping  a  liotel.  In  that  fight,  our  Co- 
manches  fought  the  Mexicans  about  even,  but  whipped 
them,  and  brought  home  a  lot  of  horses,  brood  mares, 
guns,  ammunition,  and  several  Mexican  prisoners. 

We  spent  the  remainder  of  the  winter  in  the  usual 
sports  and  in  hunting,  and  in  June  the  Arapahoes  and 
Cheyennes  came  over  to  our  village,  on  Little  Red 
river,  to  hold  the  annual  feast,  according  to  agreement. 
At  this  feast  there  was  a  show  of  scalps  taken  during 
the  year,  and  our  tribe  had  the  most,  our  chief  showing 


bent's  fort.  45 

over  a  hundivd  ;  while  the  otlier  two  tribes  could  only 
show  al^out  half  that  number.  This  feast  and  grand 
carnival  lasted  twenty  days. 

At  the  usual  chiefs'  council,  at  the  expiration  of  the 
feast,  the  Clieyenne  chief  advised  "Old  ^Volf"  to  go 
to  Bent's  Fort  and  trade  with  the  white  people.  He 
had  done  so,  and  liked  them ;  showed  some  presents 
he  had  received;  said  they  were  good  people,  — not 
like  the  Texans,  but  like  me,  and  were  of  the  same 
party  as  myself.  "  Old  Wolf  "  agreed  to  go  and  have 
a  talk  with  Bent  the  next  year,  when  he  should  come 
around  to  feast  with  the  Cheyennes;  for  the  camp 
of  the  Cheyennes  was  not  more  than  a  day's  travel 
from  the  fort.  At  this  feast  the  Cheyennes  complained 
of  bad  luck  and  a  scarcity  of  horses,  and  "  Old  Wolf" 
made  them  a  present  of  three  hundred  head,  saying 
he  knew  where  to  find  plenty  more. 

During  the  ensuing  year,  we  made  some  important 
raids  into  Mexico,  and  had  a  number  of  fights,  travel- 
ing a  large  circuit  with  the  entire  tribe,  sometimes  with 
good  success  and  sometimes  quite  the  contrary. 

At  the  June  feast  among  the  Cheyennes,  when  I  had 
been  with  the  Comanches  nearly  four  years,  "Old 
Wolf"  went  with  their  chief,  by  invitation,  to  visit 
Bent's  Fort,  about  twenty  miles  distant.  Bent  had 
learned  from  Kit  Carson  that  John  Batiste  and  myself 
were  with  the  Comanches,  and  offered  to  buy  us  of 
"Old  Wolf."  He  replied,  that  he  would  be  willing  to 
sell  John  for  a  jews-harp,  but  could  not  spare  me, 
unless  I  was  dissatisfied,  and  wanted  to  leave  them. 
He  sent  a  warrior  back  to  our  camp,  saving  we  were 
wanted  at  the  fort.  AVhih^  saddling  our  horses,  my 
wife  began  to  cry,  but  assisted  in  our  preparations  and 
finally  decided  to  go  with  us  to  the  fort,  telling  me  re- 


46  "peg-leg"   smith. 

peatedly  on  the  road  that  she  wanted  me  to  stay  by 
her  and  not  forsake  their  tribe. 

At  the  fort  I  met  Kit  Carson,  Peg-leg  Smith,  and 
most  of  the  men  that  belonged  to  the  train  with  which 
I  engaged  nearly  four  years  before. 

Peg-leg  Smith,  as  has  before  been  stated,  received 
this  name  from  the  fact  of  his  having  a  wooden  leg. 
He  was  a  stout  built  man  with  black  eyes  and  gray 
hair.  He  was  a  hard  drinker,  and,  when  under  the  in- 
fluence of  liquor,  very  liable  to  get  into  a  fight.  "When 
he  found  himself  in  a  tight  place,  his  wooden  leg 
proved  very  serviceable  to  him  as  he  had  a  way  of 
unstrapping  it  very  quickly,  and  when  wielded  by  his 
muscular  arms  it  proved  a  weapon  not  to  be  despised. 

His  love  of  liquor  was  his  ruin,  as  he  died  about 
the  year  1868,  in  a  drunken  fit,  in  Calaveras  county, 
California. 

The  whole  party  were  much  pleased  to  welcome 
John  and  me  from  our  captivity,  and,  as  might  be 
imagined  fi'om  previous  descriptions  of  the  leading 
men  of  the  party,  whisky  occupied  a  prominent 
place  in  the  rejoicing.  Peg-leg  Smith,  at  this,  our 
first  meeting,  showed  me  what  to  expect  of  him  in 
future,  whenever  he  and  whisky  came  together,  and 
John  and  I  found  our  heads  hardly  able  to  stand  the 
many  toasts  drank  to  our  good  health. 

The  whole  party,  "Old  Wolf,"  and  his  companion, 
the  Cheyenne  chief,  got  very  much  elated ;  and  nearly 
every  person  in  the  fort  smelt  the  whisky,  if  they  did 
not  get  their  feet  tangled  with  it.  About  midnight  a 
messenger  came  inside,  stating  that  a  thousand  warriors 
were  gathering  around  the  fort.  They  demanded  their 
leaders,  fearing  treachery  ;  they  desired  to  know  why 
their  chief  had  not  returned.     I  went  out  and  explain- 


RANSOMED,  47 

ed  tliat  we  were  among  good  friends.  They  insisted  on 
seeing  "Old  Wolf"  himself.  He,  and  my  wife,  and 
myself  showed  ourselves  to  thenl,  and  the  chief  made 
a  speech,  telling  them  that  h(^  and  the  Cheyenne  chief 
were  among  good  men  who  were  friends  to  the  Indians 
and  presents  would  be  given  out  the  next  morning. 

The  warriors  were  pacified  vnth  these  assurances, 
though  tliey  did  not  leave  the  vicinity  of  tlie  fort. 
Next  morning  Bent  gave  our  chief  eight  yards  of  cur- 
tain calico  for  John  Batiste,  and  took  possession  of 
his  property  at  once.  Old  Wolf  made  many  objec- 
tions to  disposing  of  me,  but  I  was  finally  ransomed 
from  the  Indians  for  the  trifiing  consideration  of  six 
yards  of  red  flannel,  a  pound  of  tobacco,  and  an  ounce 
of  beads. 

My  wife,  who  sat  looking  on  was  greatly  distressed, 
cried  bitterly,  and  would  have  gone  with  me  if  the 
chief  had  given  permission,  but  he  refused,  saying  he 
preferred  to  keep  her,  and  that  I  could  visit  her  often, 
if  I  chose,  as  I  promised  faithfully  to  do.  I  tried  to 
comfort  her  by  rigging  her  out  gaily,  giving  her  a 
variety  of  beads  and  a  red  dress,  but  this,  although. 
very  pleasing  to  her  Indian  taste,  hardly  reconciled 
her  to  the  separation, 

I  took  "Old  Wolf"  in  charge  and  with  a  lieutenant, 
showed  him  all  over  the  fort,  letting  him  see  the  rifle 
port  holes,  and  explaining  how  the  fort  could  stand 
a  siege  against  thousands  of  Indians.  Finally  we 
went  out  on  the  parapet  where  there  was  a  six  pounder 
at  each  angle,  "Old  Wolf"  inquired  how  they 
could  shoot  that  thing.  By  my  request  a  blank 
cartridge  was  put  in  and  the  piece  fired.  The  chief 
sprang  back  in  amazement  ;  my  vnfe  came  up  to  see 
what  was  the  matter,  and  the  Indians  on  the  outside, 


48  TP.ADING. 

under  the  walls,  knowing  notliing  of  what  was  going 
on,  ran  away  as  fast  as  their  legs  could  carry  them, 
convinced  that  "Old  Wolf"  must  be  dead  now,  and 
their  own  safety  depended  on  flight.  The  chief  and  I 
sprang  up  on  the  wall  and  signalled  and  shouted  to 
them  and  they  returned,  asking  in  much  astonish- 
ment, what  kind  of  a  monstrous  gun  that  was. 

About  noon,  trading  commenced.  The  Indians 
wished  to  come  into  the  fort,  but  Bent  prohibited  the 
entrance  of  any  but  chiefs.  At  the  back  door  he  dis- 
played his  wares,  and  the  Indians  brought  forward 
their  ponies,  buffalo  robes,  and  deer  and  other  skins, 
which  they  traded  for  tobacco,  beads  calicoes,  flan- 
nels, knives,  spoons,  whistles,  jewsharps,  &c.,  &c. 

He  sold  them  whisky  the  first  day,  but  it  caused 
several  fights  among  'themselves  before  night,  and  he 
stopped  its  sale  by  my  suggestion  and  mth  "Old 
Wolf  s ' '  consent.  Indians  do  not  waste  time  in  fighting 
with  their  fists,  but  use  knives  and  tomahawks,  and  a 
scrimmage  among  themselves  is  serious.  There  was 
considerable  difficulty  the  first  day,  with  drunken  In- 
dians outside  the  fort,  and  two  or  three  deaths  resulted. 

The  trading  continued  eight  days  and  Bent  reaped 
a  wonderful  harvest  of  what  would  turn  to  gold  when 
shipped  to  St.  Louis.  "Old  Wolf"  slept  in  the  fort 
every  night  except  one,  and  every  time  he  did,  his 
•  warriors  aroused  him  during  the  night  and  compelled 
him  to  show  himself  on  the  walls  to  satisfy  them  of 
his  safety. 

On  the  morning  of  the  ninth  day  the  chiefs  met 
and  told  Bent  they  were  going  home  and  would  send 
out  hunting  parties,  collect  more  skins  and  furs  and 
come  to  trade  with  him  every  two  or  three  months. 
"Old  Wolf"  told  Bent  that  his  goods  were  splendid. 


PARTING   WITH   SPOTTED   FAWN.  49 

his  whisky  excellent  and  he  should  furnish  him 
with  all  the  horses  and  mules  he  wanted  hy  sending 
out  parties  and  making  raids  into  Mexico.  Bent  of- 
fered to  give  him  the  mark<'t  price  for  all  such  stock, 
and  had  no  conscientious  scruples  about  the  way  the 
Indians  obtained  them. 

I  reported  to  Bent  concerning  the  two  American  girls 
and  their  two  brothers  I  had  found  in  camp  when  I 
was  captured  by  the  Comanches,  and  he  made  "Old 
Wolf"  liberal  offers  for  them,  but  the  chief  would  not 
hear  to  anything  of  the  kind.  He  replied  that  he 
was  glad  that  he  had  got  rid  of  John  Batiste,  for 
they  were  tired  of  supporting  him  as  he  had  never 
killed  any  game  or  been  useful.  But  he  could  not 
think  of  parting  with  the  wives  of  his  sons,  and  the 
little  Brown  boys,  who  were  as  wild,  active,  and  ex- 
pert as  Indians. 

I  now  had  to  part  with  my  wife  and  little  son, 
three  years  of  age,  which  "  Si)otted  Fawn  "  had  brought 
along  to  the  fort,  probably  as  an  inducement  for  me 
to  remain  with  her.  She  had  also  brought  witli  her 
from  camp  a  tine  bay  horse  which  she  knew  I  valued 
highly.  This  horse  she  left  with  me ;  and  picking  up 
our  child,  with  a  tearful  embrace,  with  a  look  of  sor- 
row bordering  on  despair,  and  one  wild,  mournful 
shriek,  she  was  gone  from  the  fort.  Her  grief  at  the 
separation  caused  the  poor  woman  to  lose  prema- 
turely her  second  child,  as  I  have  learned  since 

When  "Old  Wolf  bade  me  good  bye  he  present- 
ed me  with  two  mules,  and  to  John  Batiste  he  gave 
a  pony.  He  liked  his  fare  and  treatment  at  the  fort 
very  much  indeed.  The  variety  of  cooked  dislies  suited 
him,  but  the  bread  he  disliked,  saying  it  would  l)e  good 
to  make  a  smoke-fire  with  to  color  their  buckskins. 
4 


50 


THE   BROWN   SISTERS. 


About  three  months  after  I  was  ransomed  the  chief's 
eldest  son  was  killed  during  a  raid  into  Mexico  and 
the  elder  of  the  two  American  girls,  who  was  tl^.us 
made  a  widow,  was  sold  to  Bent  and  is  now  living  in 
San  Antonio,  Texas.  Matilda  Brown,  the  younger 
sister,  was  sold  to  Bent,  but  the  chief  would  not  let  her 
little  half-breed  son  accompany  her ;  so  after  stopping 
at  the  fort  three  or  four  days,  she  declared  herself 
unfit  to  live  among  white  people,  and  returned  to  the 
tribe  where  she  is  still  living  or  was  a  few  years  ago ; 
and  her  two  younger  brothers  never  could  be  induced 
to  leave  the  Comanches. 


CHAPTER  III. 

IT  was  in  1839  when  I  was  restored  to  the  company 
of  hunters  and  trappers  with  whom  I  had  started 
out  nearly  four  years  before.  It  surprised  me  that 
the  party  had  changed  so  little ;  in  fact  the  principal 
men  were  all  here  at  the  fort  or  out  on  a  hunt  and 
would  soon  be  with  us.  Trapping  for  beaver  and 
hunting  game,  &c.,  was  the  chief  occupation  of  these 
traders''  and  fur  dealers  whose  head-quarters  were  at 
Bent's  Fort.  About  one  hundred  trappers  were  in  the 
employ  of  Bent  and  his  partners,  and  sometimes  one 
half  the  company  were  off  on  the  hunt ;  sometimes 
more  ;  leaving  a  small  force  at  the  fort  for  its  protec- 
tion, though  a  military  company  was  constantly  sta- 
tioned there  with  a  small  battery,  which  was  consid- 
ered sufficient  for  its  defense. 

When  a  company  of  trappers  returned  to  the  fort 
from  a  successful  hunting  trip,  they  were  very  jubi- 
lant and  usually  staid  at  the  fort  playing  cards,  drink- 
ing whisky  and  carousing,  till  a  new  party  would 
organize  and  start  off  on  another  tramp,  to  be  gone 
for  several  months,  perhaps. 

I  staid  at  the  fort  some  three  months  and  then  went 
out  trapping  under  the  lead  of  Kit  Carson,  with  Peg- 
leg  Smith,  Spiebuck,  Shawnee  Jake,  and  other  Shaw- 
nces,  with  some  hunters  I  had  not  seen  before;  in 
all  the  party  numbered  forty  or  fifty. 

Our  destination  was  Picket  Ware  at  the  foot  of 
Taos  Mountain,  ninety  or  a  hundred  miles  from  Bent's 


52  TRAPPING. 

Fort.  In  the  region  about  "Picket  Ware"  and  along 
Beaver  creek  we  trapped  and  hunted  four  months. 
Altogether  we  captured  over  five  hundred  beaver 
and  put  up  a  great  deal  of  bear  bacon  and  bear' s  oil. 

Spiebuck  and  Shawnee  Jake,  with  myself,  were  the 
principal  hunters  for  meat.  Out  hunting  one  evening, 
between  sundown  and  dark,  I  wounded  an  elk.  Being 
80  dark  I  could  not  see  my  rilie-sights  clearly,  I  shot 
it  too  far  back.  It  was  so  late  I  let  it  run  and  return- 
ed to  camp.  It  ran  up  a  ravine  which  opened  out  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  camp.  Knowing  that  a  wounded, 
elk  invariably  takes  to  the  water  and  stays  by  it  till 
lie  dies,  I  was  satisfied  that  I  should  find  my  game  in 
the  morning  near  one  of  the  sloughs  or  small  pools  of 
water  scattered  through  the  ravine.  On  my  return  to 
camp  I  enjoyed  a  luscious  supper  of  Shawnee  cooking, 
being  a  mixture  of  turkey,  grizzly  bear,  beaver  tails, 
and  buffalo,  all  cooked  together  in  the  same  pot.  I 
may  as  well  say  here  that  bread  forms  no  part  of  an 
Indian's  diet,  and  in  my  four  years  of  captivity  I  had 
lived  on  meat  altogether,  and  had  lost  my  appetite  for 
bread. 

Perhaps  the  reader  may  never  have  heard  of  such 
a  dish  as  beaver  tails;  but  I  consider  them  the  best 
meat  that  I  ever  fed  on,  when  properly  cooked. 
After  supper,  while  lying  around  on  our  buff'alo  robes, 
smoking,  I  told  my  companions  that  I  had  w^ounded  a 
splendid  elk,  close  by,  which  I  assured  them  I  should 
be  able  to  bring  into  camp  the  next  morning.  ^  I  also 
told  them  that  grizzly  bears  were  very  thick  in  that 
part  of  the  country,  and  we  stood  a  good  chance  of 
finding  one  by  the  elk  in  the  morning. 

I  had  a  friend  in  camp,  named  John  Mclntire,  who 
proposed  to  go  with  me.    I  accepted  his  proposition, 


MCINTIKE   AND   THE   GRIZZLY.  63 

though  I  had  some  doubts  as  to  his  fitness  for  a 
bear  liuiit,  for  he  was  perfectly  green.  I  cautioned 
him  of  the  danger  in  Imnting  grizzlies,  but  he  had 
no  fears,  and  insisted  on  going  with  me. 

The  next  morning  I  buckled  on  my  tomahawk  and 
hunting-knife,  took  my  gun  and  dog,  and  accompa- 
nied by  Mclntire,  I  started  to  see  about  the  elk.  On 
arriving  at  the  ravine  I  instructed  my  friend  to  cross 
over  to  the  opposite  side  and  climb  the  hill,  but  by  no 
means  to  go  into  the  hollow,  as  the  grizzlies  were  dan- 
gerous when  they  got  a  man  on  the  down-hill  side. 
I  went  directly  to  where  I  presumed  the  elk  would  be 
found,  if  he  had  died  by  the  water-side,  and  as  soon 
as  I  approached  within  a  short  distance  I  saw  that  a 
large  grizzly  bear  had  scented  my  elk  and  was  mak- 
ing his  breakfast  out  of  him. 

He  was  in  thick,  scrubby  oak  brush,  and  I  made 
my  dog  lie  down  while  I  crawled  behind  a  rock  to  get 
a  favorable  shot  at  the  animal.  I  shot  him  but  he 
only  snapped  at  the  wound  made  by  the  bullet  and 
stiirted  tearing  tlirou[^h  the  brush,  biting  furiously  at 
the  bushes  as  he  went.  I  reloaded  my  rille  as  rapidly 
as  possible  to  get  in  a  second  shot,  but  to  my  surprise 
I  saw  the  bear  rushing  down  the  hollow,  chasing  after 
Mclntire  who  was  only  about  ten  steps  in  advance  of 
the  beast,  and  he  was  running  for  dear  life,  and 
making  as  much  noise  as  a  mad  bull.  The  truth  is 
Mclntire  was  scared  and  I  hasten^nl  to  the  rescue,  first 
sending  my  dog  forward  to  help  him. 

Just  as  the  dog  reached  the  bear  Mclntire  darted 
behind  a  tree  and  flung  his  hat  in  the  bear's  face,  at 
the  same  time  pointing  his  gun  at  him.  Old  grizzly 
seized  the  muzzle  of  the  gun  in  his  teeth  and  as  it  was 
loaded  and  cocked  it  went  off  either  accidentally  or 


54  FUKS   AND   MEAT   SENT   TO   BENT'S   FORT. 

otherwise  and  blew  tlie  bears  head  open,  jnst  as  the 
dog  fastened  on  his  hind  quarters,  I  ran  to  the  assist- 
ance of  my  friend  with  all  haste,  but  he  was  out  of 
danger,  and  had  sat  down  several  rods  away  with  his 
face  as  white  as  a  sheet  and  as  badly  frightened  a  man 
as  I  ever  met.  I  commenced  laughing  and  he  became 
indignant,  saying  it  was  no  laughing  matter  ;  and  I 
never  got  Mclntire  out  on  any  more  bear  hunts.  He 
would  cook  or  do  any  thing,  but  said  he  never  in- 
tended to  make  a  business  of  bear  hunting.  He  had 
only  vnshed  for  one  adventure,  and  this  one  had 
perfectly  satisfied  him. 

After  Mclntire  had  recovered  from  his  fright  and 
bewilderment,  I  told  him  to  go  to  the  camp  and  bring 
me  the  pack  mules  while  I  skinned  and  cut  up  my 
bear  and  elk.  He  returned  shortly  with  four  of  the 
strongest  pack  mules  there  were  in  camp,  and  several 
Mexican  packers.  The  bear  being  extraordinarily 
large,  weighing  probably  one  thousand  pounds,  and 
the  elk  of  average  size,  they  made  a  good  load  for  each 
mule ;  and  when  we  returned  to  camp  all  hands  were 
collected  to  enjoy  a  hearty  supper. 

The  adventure  I  had  with  Mclntire  was  too  good 
to  keep,  so  I  explained  to  Carson  and  the  rest  of  the 
company  what  a  narrow  escape  and  terrible  fright 
Mclntire  had,  and  they  laughed  at  him  so  much  that 
he  dejclared  he  had  no  intention  of  hunting  grizzly 
bears  in  future. 

Beaver  and  game  now  began  to  get  scarce  and  we 
were  ready  to  move  again.  We  concluded  to  send 
twenty  loads  of  furs  and  meat  to  Bent's  Fort  in 
charge  of  our  packers.  The  Shawnee,  Spiebuck,  said 
he  had  been  out  and  found  a  place  where  there  was 
a  plenty  of  game  and  lots  of  beaver,  &c.    It  was  at  a 


-y'-     '- :^- 


1 

} 

) 

\, 

/ 

\ 

1 

/ 

,1 

/I     .  / 

1 

FIRST   LESSONS   IX   BUFFALO-HUNTING.  55 

place  called  Bald  Buttes,  about  thirty  miles  north 
of  us.  We  started  off  our  pack  train  for  the  fort, 
giving  them  directions  where  to  find  us  on  their  return. 
We  arrived  at  Bald  Buttes  the  second  day  after,  and 
found  it  an  excellent  hunting  ground  for  buffalo  and 
trapping  beaver,  as  Spiebuck  had  told  us. 

We  had  a  green  Irishman,  named  O'Xcil,  who  was 
quite  anxious  to  become  proficient  in  hunting  and  it 
wasn't  long  before  he  got  his  first  lesson.  We  in- 
structed him  that  every  man  who  went  out  of  camp 
after  gam(^  was  expected  to  bring  in  meat  of  some  kind. 
O'JS'eil  said  he  would  agree  to  the  terms  and  was  ready 
to  start  out  that  evening.  He  picked  up  his  rifle  and 
started  for  a  small  herd  of  mountain  buffalo  in  plain 
sight,  only  three  or  four  liundred  yards  from  camp. 

We  were  all  busy  fixing  up  our  new  camp,  some  of 
us  putting  up  tents  and  some  cooking  supper,  when 
we  heard  Mr.  0' Neil's  rifle  in  the  distance,  and  shortly 
after  the  gentleman  came  running  into  camp,  bare- 
headed, without  his  gun,  witli  a  bull  buffalo  close 
after  him,  both  going  at  full  speed,  and  O'Neil  shout- 
ing like  a  madman, 

"Here  we  come,  bo  Jasus.  Stop  us!  For  the  love 
of  God,  stop  us!" 

Just  as  they  came  in  among  the  tents,  the  bull 
not  more  than  six  feet  in  rear  of  the  Irishman,  who 
was  frightened  out  of  his  vdts  and  puffing  lik(?  a  loco- 
motive, his  toe  caught  in  a  tent-rope  and  over  he  went 
into  a  puddle  of  water,  head  foremost  and  in  his  fall 
capsized  several  camp-kettles,  one  of  whicli  contained 
our  supper.  But  the  buffalo  did  not  escape  so  easily, 
for  Sliawnee  Jake  and  I  Jumptnl  for  our  guns  and 
dropped  the  animal  before  he  had  done  any  further 
damage. 


66  INTERESTING   CAPTURE. 

We  all  laughed  lieartily  at  0'  Neil  when  he  had  got 
up  out  of  the  water,  for  a  party  of  trappers  show  no 
mercy  to  one  who  meets  with  a  mishap  of  this  kind  ; 
but  as  he  stood  there  with  dripping  clothes  and  face 
covered  with  mud,  liis  mother  wit  came  to  his  relief 
and  he  declared  he  had  accomplished  the  hunter's 
task,  "For  sure,  "  said  he,  "havn't  I  fetched  the  mate 
into  camp,  and  there  was  no  bargain  whether  it  should 
be  dead  or  alive,  at  all,  at  all." 

Upon  asking  O'Neil  where  his  gun  was — 

"Sure, "  says  he,  "that's  more  than  I  can  tell  you." 

Next  morning  Kit  Carson  and  I  took  his  tracks  and 
the  buffalo' s,  and,  after  hunting  an  hour  or  so,  found 
O' Neil's  gun,  though  he  had  little  use  for  it  afterwards 
as  he  preferred  to  cook  and  help  around  the  camp  to 
exposing  his  precious  life  in  fighting  buffaloes. 

One  morning  Kit  Carson  and  I  discovered  some 
fresh  signs  of  Indians  while  we  were  out  on  a  tramp 
prospecting  the  chances  for  trapping.  On  our  return 
to  camp  we  warned  our  partners  to  keep  a  good  look- 
out for  them  and  not  to  stray  away  from  camp  with- 
out due  precaution. 

The  next  day  while  out  with  a  company,  including 
Kit  Carson  and  Spiebuck,  we  discovered  that  otter  and 
beaver  were  plenty  in  the  neighborhood  ;  before  night 
we  made  an  interesting  capture  of  an  old  "Crow" 
Indian  squaw,  who  was  over  one  hundred  years  old. 
We  took  her  into  camp,  fed  her,  and  gave  her  a 
blanket  to  sleep  on.  None  of  us  could  converse  with 
her  except  Peg-leg  Smith,  and  he  having  lived  among 
the  Crow  Indians  could  talk  ^vith  her  some,  and  gain 
a  little  information,  though  she  was  too  old  and  timid 
to  be  very  chatty  with  him  even. 

Next  day  we  divided  into  two  parties  for  setting 


MEETING    WITH    CROWS.  57 

beaver  traps,  hunting  game,  &c.,  and  at  niglit  one 
party  reported  in  camp  that  tliey  had  discovered 
eiglit  Crow  Indians  that  day  at  some  distance,  but  had 
no  communication  with  them.  Peg4eg  Smith,  wlio 
lost  his  leg  among  the  Crows  several  years  before  and 
was  acquainted  with  their  habits  and  language,  said 
he  sliould  like  to  hunt  them  up,  and,  taking  only 
Shawnee  Jake  for  a  companion,  sallied  forth  the  next 
morning  to  visit  the  Crows  ;  though  we  offered  to  send 
an  escort,  they  refused,  thinking  there  was  no  danger. 
The  r(»st  of  us  were  busy  all  day  in  hunting  game  and 
skinning  our  beaver  and  otter,  having  caught  in  our 
traps  by  the  river  side,  seventy-six  beaver  and  a  dozen 
otter,  which  we  thought  good  luck  for  the  first  night's 
trapping.  At  night  all  of  us  were  gathered  in  camp 
except  Peg-leg  Smith  and  Jake,  for  whom  we  had 
fears,  but  concluded  to  wait  another  day  for  them  to 
come  in,  and  if  we  saw  nothing  of  them,  to  then  go 
in  pursuit.  Tlie  second  niglit  we  had  onl}^  caught 
fifty  beaver  and  five  otter,  but  on  returning  to  camp 
we  espied  ten  Indians  near  where  we  found  tlie  old 
squaw  and  they  were  apparently  looking  for  her. 
After  watcliing  them  awhile.  Kit  Carson  advised  us  to 
show  ourselves,  as  we  might  have  some  communica- 
tion with  them.  On  discovering  us  they  started  to  run  ; 
but  Kit  placed  a  white  handkerchief  on  his  ramrod 
and  made  other  friendly  signs  which  induced  tluMU  to 
stop,  and  one  of  their  number  cautiously  approached 
to  meet  Kit,  previously  laying  down  his  bow  and 
arrows  as  Kit  threw  down  his  gun.  After  they  had 
conferred  alone,  chiefly  by  signs,  the  Indians  advanced 
to  meet  us,  and  after  a  good  smoke  all  round  tliey  had 
confidence  enough  to  go  with  us  on  our  return  to  camp 
for  they   saw  from  our  game  that  we  were  simply 


58  PARTING   WITH   THE   CROWS. 

friendly  hunters.  When  they  saw  the  old  squaw 
they  were  much  pleased,  and  one  Indian  who  looked 
about  sixty  years  of  age,  said  she  was  his  mother 
and  appeared  very  thankful  that  we  had  given  her  a 
blanket. 

Kit  Carson  said  to  us  that  as  Peg-leg  and  Jake  had 
not  returned,  we  might  keep  these  fellows  as  hostages 
and  take  their  scalps,  if  they  should  not  return. 

He  felt  so  anxious  that  Spiebuck  and  I  concluded  to 
go  with  him  to  hunt  up  our  missing  comrades,  and  we 
finally  found  them  returning  to  our  camp  in  company 
with  the  Crow  chief  and  four  warriors.  When  we 
got  in,  there  was  great  joy  among  the  Indians  to  meet 
their  chief. 

Smith  declared  the  Crows  rather  treacherous,  but  he 
had  a  wife  among  them  and  lost  his  leg  lighting  for 
them,  which  would  be  a  sufficient  guaranty  of  our 
safety  so  long  as  he  remained  with  us.  The  chief 
staid  in  camp  till  next  day  and  Peg-leg  Smith  pro- 
posed to  take  his  people  to  Bent's  Fort  to  trade  with 
Bent ;  but  the  chief  declined  as  it  was  dangerous  for 
the  Crows  to  leave  their  mountain  country,  and  get 
down  among  the  Cheyennes,  Comanches,  and  Arapa- 
hoes.  But  the  chief  was  desirous  to  trade  with  the 
whites  if  they  would  bring  their  goods  up  the^e.  Car- 
son immediately  started  a  Shawnee  Indian  with  a 
letter  to  Bent's  Fort,  over  two  hundred  miles,  with 
instructions  to  send  him  some  goods  on  our  pack 
mules,  which  had  been  sent  down  with  furs. 

After  the  Indian  and  his  letter  had  started  to  the  fort, 
the  chief  and  his  warriors  left,  mostly  on  foot;  but 
before  going  he  assured  us  that  none  of  us  should  be 
hurt  and  promised  to  come  back  in  about  a  month  to 
trade.     Smith  furnished  the  Indian  with  a  pack  mule 


RETURN  TO   bent's   FORT.  69 

to  carry  liis  motlier  home  and  lie  returned  with  it  in 
four  days,  according  to  promise. 

We  kept  on  trapping  and  hunting  there  until  the 
pack  mules  arrived  with  the  goods  from  the  fort. 
Bent  sent  four  or  live  hundred  dollars  worth  of  goods 
and  we  traded  them  to  the  Crows  for  three  or  four 
thousand  dollars  worth  of  furs.  Then  we  all  returned 
to  Bent' s  Fort  with  our  train  heavily  laden  with  furs 
and  buffalo-robes. 

We  stayed  two  or  three  weeks  at  Bent's  Fort,  re- 
cruiting up  and  having  a  good  time  with  old  friends. 
Bent  was  highly  pleased  with  our  trip.  Trappers 
always  have  many  thrilling  yarns  and  funny  stories 
to  tell  each  other  when  they  meet  at  head-quarters, 
and  we  had  our  share.  Often  did  we  have  a  good 
laugh  over  the  adventures  of  Mclntire  and  O'Neil. 

Bent  proposed  that  we  should  go  back  to  the  Crow 
nation  and  establish  a  post  among  them,  but  Carson 
objected  on  account  of  furs  being  scarce  up  there,  and 
he  considered  that  we  had  dramedthat  market  already, 
and  he  thought  there  were  other  places  where  we  could 
do  better. 

In  a  short  time,  we  were  ready  for  another  hunt. 
Kit  Carson,  Peg-leg  Smith,  and  myself,  with  a  number 
of  our  Shawnee  Indian  trappers,  started  for  New 
Mexico,  going  over  what  was  called  the  Taos  moun- 
tain. We  stopped  in  Santa  Fe  some  two  or  three 
weeks,  meeting  there  Colonel  Owens,  Nicholas  Gentry, 
and  other  traders  from  Independence,  Mo.  Soon  after 
(in  December,  1840),  a  report  came  that  Albert  Spey- 
ers's  train  was  snowed  in  on  the  Cimarron  creek,  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Santa  Fe,  and  that 
over  four  hundred  of  his  mules  were  frozen  to  death. 
He  had  seventy-five  wagons  and  ten  mules  to  the 


60  A   RELIEF   TEAIlSr. 

wagon.  All  the  American  mules  died,  and  the  Mexi- 
can mules  sustained  life  by  eating  oif  the  mane^ 
and  tails  from  the  dead  carcasses.  The  snow  was  two 
feet  deep,  and  the  teamsters  could  make  no  fire,  except 
by  tearing  up  their  wagon-boxes  and  side-boards, 
as  the  buffalo  chips  were  all  covered  up,  and  the 
nearest  timber  was  about  ten  miles  off,  at  Cottonwood 
Grove.  The  storm  had  come  on  suddenly,  and  the 
cold  was  so  intense  that  the  animals  had  frozen,  and 
their  bones  remain  there  to  this  day,  which  gave  that 
place  the  name  of  Bone  Yard. 

Colonel  Owens  came  to  me,  when  the  report  of  this 
disaster  reached  Santa  Fe,  and,  knowing  I  had  been 
among  the  Comanches,  he  begged  me  to  take  charge  of 
a  relief  train  and  start  off  immediately.  As  the  route 
lay  through  a  part  of  the  Comanche  country,  and 
I  sjooke  their  language,  he  offered  me  a  good  price 
to  go,  and  I  consented.  The  train  was  fitted  up  with 
dispatch,  and  the  mules,  oxen,  and  provisions  were 
soon  ready.  We  had  ten  Mexicans  to  drive  the  loose 
oxen  and  mules,  and  teamsters  to  drive  the  wagons. 
A  Mexican  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Speyers,  who  had 
come  in  with  the  news,  returned  with  us  as  guide. 
We  vrere  twenty  days  in  reaching  the  perishing  train, 
and  found  them  in  an  awful  situation.  They  had 
driven  what  mules  remained  alive  to  the  cottonwood 
grove,  ten  miles  away,  and,  loading  part  of  them  with 
wood,  had  taken  it  back  to  camp.  They  had  also  cut 
down  immense  quantities  of  the  cottonwood  trees  for 
shelter,  and  the  mules  lived  on  the  buds  and  bark.  If 
the  storm,  which  lasted  several  days,  had  not  come  on 
go  fiercely  and  suddenly  the  first  night,  they  might 
have  saved  the  whole  train,  by  starting  at  once  for  this 
grove. 


ALBERT   SPEYERS.  61 

My  trip  for  their  relief  was  tlirougli  a  wild  country, 
aud,  as  we  encountered  deep  snows,  our  progress  was 
necessarily  slow.  We  liad  four  hundi-ed  mules  and 
sixty  yoke  of  Mexican  cattle  ;  but  it  was  hard  work  to 
move  the  heavy  train  of  Mr.  Speyers  bat;k  to  Santa 
Fe,  for  the  starving  mules,  barely  saved  alive  from  the 
hunger  and  cold,  could  not  pull  much.  The  oxen 
were  yoked  in  Mexican  fashion,  the  yoke  being  lashed 
to  the  horns  with  rawhide,  and  the  different  yokes 
in  the  same  team  connected  with  rawhide  ropes.  They 
were  driven  by  a  man  on  each  side,  with  a  long  stick 
or  pole,  having  a  sharp  nail  or  spur  on  the  end,  which 
was  used  instead  of  a  whip. 

We  traveled  slowly,  enduring  much  suffering,  and 
at  times  nearly  freezing,  till  we  reached  Las  Vegas, 
where  we  got  more  men  and  animals  and  were  much 
relieved,  making  the  balance  of  our  journey  into 
Santa  Fe  much  easier.  Our  arrival  produced  great 
excitement,  and  our  old  friends  were  all  glad  to  meet 
us  and  to  learn  of  our  safety. 

Speyers,  if  living,  must  now  (1872)  be  quite  an  old 
man.  He  has  done  a  heavy  business  in  Kansas  City, 
purchased  largely  in  real  estate,  and,  the  last  I  heard 
of  him,  he  had  acquired  a  large  amount  of  property. 
He  was  of  German  descent,  tall  and  spar«%  with  keen 
eyes,  and  his  language,  though  somewhat  broken,  was 
always  polite.  He  had  a  good  reputation  as  a  fair 
trader,  and,  at  the  time  he  was  snowed  in  at  Cimarron 
creek,  the  merchants  of  Santa  Fe  manifested  the  live- 
liest sympathy  for  him  and  his  men,  and  showed  the 
respect  in  which  they  held  him,  by  doing  every  thing 
in  their  power  for  his  relief.  During  my  long  ac- 
quaintance with  liim,  I  found  him  in  all  respects,  a 
gentleman. 


62  PEG-LEG  SMITH   IN   TROUBLE. 

On  my  arrival  at  Santa  Fe,  I  went  to  hunt  up  my 
friends,  Kit  Carson  and  Peg-leg  Smith,  finding  Kit 
in  a  Mexican  liotel,  and  lie  gave  me  a  cordial  welcome. 
He  said  Smitli  was  probably  in  a  saloon  near  by,  and 
that  lie  had  seen  him  drunk  nearly  every  day  since 
I  left.  Going  over  to  the  saloon,  we  found  Smith  in  a 
fracas  with  two  or  three  Mexicans,  and,  having  un- 
strapped his  wooden  leg,  he  had  knocked  one  Mexican 
down  with  it,  and  was  hopping  around  on  one  foot, 
determined  to  knock  down  the  others.  Our  arrival 
put  a  stop  to  his  warlike  demonstrations,  and,  after  he 
had  buckled  on  his  wooden  leg,  we  escorted  him  to 
our  hotel.  There  we  made  him  drink  a  cup  of  tea, 
and  locked  him  up  in  a  room  to  get  sober.  He  was 
nearly  dead  with  the  horrors ;  but  we  kept  him  con- 
fined there  four  days,  during  which  he  kept  up  a 
yelling  that  would  have  astonished  a  wild  Indian. 
We  took  him  in  food  and  liquor  in  small  quantities, 
and,  at  the  end  of  four  days,  let  him  out,  and  kept  an 
eye  on  him,  to  prevent  the  Mexicans  killing  him. 

We  amused  ourselves  here  attending  several  dances, 
or  fandangoes,  with  Mexican  ladies.  Tlie  last  fandango 
was  a  terribly  exciting  affair.  At  this  ball,  there  were 
sixty  or  seventy  Americans,  most  of  whom  w^ere  pretty 
hard  customers,  —  teamsters,  &c.  We  had  hired  two 
Mexican  musicians  to  play  all  night  for  three  dollars. 
One  of  them  had  a  "fiddle"  of  his  own  manufacture, 
and  the  other  an  instrument  he  called  a  "guitar,"  but 
it  was  big  enough  to  float  a  man.  About  midnight, 
the  Mexicans,  becoming  jealous  of  the  attentions  of 
some  of  our  party  to  the  ladies,  and  exasperated 
by  the  manner  in  which  the  attentions  were  received, 
attempted  to  remove  their  lady  friends  and  close  the 
ball.     By  this  time    several  of  the  party  were  in  no 


A   DANCING   GOVERNOR.  C3 

condition  to  be  dictated  to  by  any  one,  and,  as  tlie 
result  of  this  attempt  to  remove  the  ladies,  the  room 
was  quickly  ch*ared  of  the  indignant  Mexican  gents, 
the  hidies  willingly  remaining,  and  the  door  placed  in 
charge  of  one  of  our  party.  The  dance  tlK.-n  pro- 
ceeded for  a  while,  the  "music"  being  furnished  by  a 
half-way  "tiddler"  named  George  Stilts,  who  after- 
ward married  Kit  Carson' s  daughter. 

After  the  ejected  Mexicans  had  made  an  unsuccessful 
attempt,  by  the  aid  of  a  number  of  soldiers,  to  gain 
admission  to  the  hall,  they  went  to  Governor  Armijo 
(governor  of  the  State  of  New  Mexico),  who  resided  at 
Santa  Fe,  with  a  complaint  that  the  Americans  were 
making  a  disturbance,  and  they  could  do  nothing  with 
them.  The  governor,  with  a  strong  body-guard,  soon 
appeared  on  the  scene,  and  demanded  admittance, 
which  was  granted,  on  condition  tliat  he  should  leave 
his  guard  outside,  only  bringing  his  servant  in  ^^ith 
him.  On  entering  the  hall,  he  was  warmly  received, 
and,  after  partaking  of  the  hospitalities  of  the  party 
(mostly  whi^y),  he  felt  in  a  dancing  mood  himself, 
but  did  not  like  our  music,  and  so  sent  for  his  own 
musicians. 

By  the  time  the  music  arrived,  it  was  nearly  four 
o'clock,  and,  as  the  presence  of  the  governor  was 
considered  an  event  which  required  many  pledges 
of  esteem,  the  whole  party,  including  the  governor 
and  ladies,  was  in  a  sad  condition,  and  the  dancing 
was  any  thing  but  graceful.  The  doors  were  not 
opened  till  nine  o'clock,  when  those  who  could  re- 
tired. 

There  was  a  wicked  joker  in  the  American  party, 
named  Gabe  Allen,  who,  when  the  governor  yielded 
to  sleep,  had  him  carried  to  a  room  adjoining,  and 


64  GABE   ALLEN". 

laid  on  a  bed  between  two  women,  who  were  in  the 
same  condition.  About  nine  o'clock,  the  governor's 
wife,  attended  by  two  soldiers,  came  in  search  of  him, 
fearing  he  might  have  received  some  bodily  injury  at 
the  hands  of  the  revelers.  When  her  anxiety  was  at 
the  highest  pitch,  she  was  conducted  by  Allen  to 
the  room  where  her  husband  lay  in  his  drunken 
stupor.  On  seeing  him  and  his  companions,  her 
anxiety  clianged  to  rage,  and  she  "went  for"  him 
in  a  manner  that  was  very  pleasing  to  Allen,  in  his 
half-tipsy  condition.  After  some  words  between  the 
governor  and  his  wife,  Allen  and  I  escorted  him  to 
his  residence,  where  we  left  him  to  the  tender  mercies 
of  his  wife,  who  would  listen  to  no  explanations  by 
Allen,  tending  to  establish  the  innocence  of  her  hus- 
band. 

Gabe  Allen,  the  perpetrator  of  this  practical  joke  on 
the  governor,  was  a  tall,  slim,  light-complexioned 
man,  always  ready  for  a  joke  or  a  perilous  adventure. 
I  was  associated  with  him  much  of  the  time  for  a 
number  of  years.  He  has  acquired  considerable 
property,  and  is  now  living  at  Wilmington,  Los  An- 
geles county,  California. 

A  few  days  afterward,  two  hundred  Mexican  troops 
came  from  the  State  of  Chihuahua  as  an  escort  for  a 
specie-train  of  pack-mules,  in  charge  of  a  conductor, 
which  money  was  delivered  to  the  governor  of  New 
Mexico,  our  friend  of  the  fandango.  Two  or  three 
days  after  their  arrival  at  Santa  Fe,  they  called  on 
the  governor  for  payment  for  their  services,  which 
he  objected  to  giving.  The  soldiers  formed  on  the 
square,  and  said  they  would  have  their  pay  or  blood. 
The  governor  offered  them  a  draft  on  the  State  of 
Chihuahua,  which  they  refused  to  accept,   as  their 


DIFFICULTY   WITH  CIIIirUAIIUA  SOLDIERS.  65 

orders  were  to  collect  pay  from  him  for  whom  the 
service  was  rendered.  There  were  about  one  hundred 
and  seventy  Americans  then  in  Santa  Fe,  and  the 
governor  called  on  them  for  assistance.  I  asked  Kit 
Carson's  advice  on  the  matter,  and  he  replied  that  he 
thought  it  was  fair  to  help  the  governor  out  of  this 
scrape,  as  he  had  befriended  us  in  our  difficulty  with 
the  Mexicans  at  the  fandango.  We  all  gathered  our 
arms,  excepting  a  few  men  left  as  a  guard  for  our 
teams,  wagons,  &c.,  and  presented  ourselves  to  the 
governor,  ready  for  action.  By  the  time  we  reached 
the  palace,  the  Chihuahua  soldiers,  on  the  plaza  in 
front,  were  drunk  and  fighting  among  themselves. 
Our  American  friends,  about  one  hundred  strong, 
formed  in  line  in  front  of  the  palace,  in  connection 
with  about  the  same  number  of  the  governor' s  troops. 
The  governor  now  sent  word  to  the  officers  of  the 
Chihuahua  troops  that  he  was  ready  to  fight  any  time 
they  were. 

Gabe  Allen  and  Kit  Carson  now  interfered,  and  ad- 
vised a  compromise,  which  was  agreed  upon,  the 
governor  agreeing  to  advance  ration-money  sufficient 
to  take  the  Chihuahua  troops  home,  and  to  pay  thirty- 
seven  and  a  half  cents  per  day  to  each  soldier  for 
eighteen  days  of  service,  which  money  was  immedi- 
ately distributed,  and  they  were  ordered  to  leave  town 
instanter,  or  they  would  be  put  out.  After  some  little 
delay  and  difficulty  in  the  distribution,  tliey  moved 
ofi",  out  of  the  place,  toward  home,  and  tlie  governor, 
being  highly  pleased,  remarked,  "  It '  s  now  my  treat." 
We  were  all  called  into  his  grounds ;  wines  and  differ- 
ent kinds  of  liquors  were  set  out,  and  a  jolly  time 
commenced.  Peg-leg  Smith,  hopping  around  on  his 
wooden  leg,  with  his  rifle  on  his  shoulder,  got  drunk 
6 


66 


ENGAGEMENT   WITH   SPEYEES. 


as  usual.     As  we  all  had  our  rifles,  it  was  a  mixed 
scene,  warlike  and  yet  convivial. 

Mr.  Speyers  finished  recruiting  his  teams,  repairing 
his  wagons,  &c.,  and,  in  the  spring  of  1841,  started  his 
train  for  Chihuahua.  Myself  and  all  the  Shawnees 
were  engaged  by  him,  and  went  on  with  his  train ;  but 
Smith  and  Carson  returned  to  Bent' s  Fort,  in  company 
with  other  trappers. 


CHAPTER  lY. 

¥E  met  with  no  particular  adventures,  after  leav- 
ing Santa  Fe,  until  we  had  traveled  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  to  a  small  village  on  a 
tributary  of  tlie  Rio  Grande,  when,  one  morning 
while  driving  in  our  mules  and  preparing  to  start 
the  train,  a  band  of  Navajo  Indians  attacked  us,  for 
the  purpose  of  creating  a  stampede  among  our  mules. 
They  did  not  succeed  in  getting  any  of  our  animals, 
and  one  of  the  Indians  paid  the  forfeit  of  his  life,  as 
Spiebuck  shot  him  at  long  range. 

We  had  no  furtlier  trouble  till  we  reached  Dead 
Man's  plain,  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from 
Santa  Fe.  This  desert  is  ninety  miles  wide ;  and  we 
rested  on  the  border  of  it  over  one  day,  to  rest  our 
mules  and  provide  water,  preparatory  to  the  terrible 
trial,  as  we  were  to  travel  night  and  day  till  we  should 
strike  the  Rio  Grande  again.  The  morning  we  were  to 
start  across  the  desert,  I  was  on  guard  with  eight 
others,  and,  just  before  daylight,  nine  Apaches  made 
a  raid  on  us,  stampeding  our  mules,  running  them 
over  three  or  four  of  the  guard,  and  breaking  one 
man's  ribs.  In  our  train  were  seventy-five  wagons, 
ten  mules  to  each  wagon,  and  there  were  about  seven 
hundred  of  the  mules  run  off.  It  was  all  done  by  the 
nine  Apaches,  who  ran  in  among  the  mules,  rattling 
buffalo  hides  and  stones  in  gourds,  scaring  the  animals 
fearfully. 

We  were  now  in  a  bad  predicament.    Nearly  all  our 


68  PUESUIT   OF  APACHES. 

mules  were  scampering  over  tlie  plain,  and  our  camp 
thrown  into  terrible  confusion.  As  soon  as  possible,  I 
mustered  a  party  of  eighteen,  saddled  our  best  remain- 
ing mules,  and,  taking  some  bacon  and  bread,  started 
in  pursuit ;  feeling  rather  sore  that  the  mules  should 
be  run  off  while  I  had  charge  of  the  guard,  and  deter- 
mined to  bring  them  back,  or  leave  my  scalp  with  the 
Apaches.  In  our  party  I  had  James  Littleton  and 
several  other  Americans,  with  Spiebuck  and  some  of 
the  best  shots  among  the  Shawnees,  —  all  picked  men. 
We  followed  the  tracks  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  found 
the  mules  had  crossed  by  the  help  of  other  Aj)aches, 
who  had  here  joined  the  raiding,  thieving  Indians, 
The  river  was  high,  and  we  had  to  stop  and  hastily 
construct  a  raft  to  carry  us  over  with  our  rifles  and 
provisions,  swimming  our  horses  alongside.  This  de- 
tained us  all  day,  and  at  night  we  slept  on  the  opposite 
bank,  wet  and%chilly,  but  determined  to  give  chase  as 
soon  as  it  became  light  enough  to  see  the  tracks.  Spie- 
buck took  the  lead,  and  we  followed  as  rapidly  as 
possible.  The  fourth  day,  our  bacon  and  bread  gave 
out,  and  we  had  nothing  to  eat.  The  fifth  day,  the 
largest  game  we  saw  was  jack-ass  rabbits,  of  which  we 
killed  two  and  divided  among  the  company  of  eighteen 
persons.  On  the  sixth  day,  I  shot  a  wolf,  but  its  flesh 
was  so  poor  and  bad-flavored,  that  we  could  not  eat  it, 
but  lay  down  that  night,  hungry  and  nearly  discour- 
aged. The  sixth  night,  we  held  a  council  to  decide 
whether  to  return  or  go  forward,  v/hich  was  decided  in 
favor  of  going  ahead  to  the  next  mountain,  and  then, 
if  no  smoke  appeared,  or  other  signs  of  Indians,  we 
would  return.  The  seventh  day,  upon  reaching  the 
top  of  the  hills,  we  found  one  of  the  mules  with  a  leg 
broken  by  getting  into  a  crevice  in  the  rocks. 


ATTACK   OX   ArACIIES.  69 

"Here  is  my  off- wheel  mule,  Poor  Old  Ned,"  said 
Enoch  Barnes,  one  of  the  Americans  in  our  party. 
We  killed  the  mule  and  took  off  all  his  meat,  packing 
it  on  the  rear  of  our  saddles,  and  proceeded  down  the 
other  side  of  the  mountain  to  a  green  flat,  or  "bottom," 
where  we  found  good  water  and  plenty  of  grass  for  our 
jaded  animals.  Tliere  we  feasted  on  sweet  mule-meat, 
without  salt.  Spiebuck  said  he  was  confident  we 
should  soon  overtake  the  Indians,  as  the  tracks  were 
fresh.  AVitli  only  three  hours'  delay  for  feeding  our 
animals  and  refreshing  ourselves,  we  j^roceeded  on 
our  way,  and  just  before  sundown  found  two  more 
mules  that  had  given  out.  Spiebuck  noticed  that  the 
animals  were  sweating,  and  remarked  that  the  Indians 
were  near.  We  took  an  early  start  the  next  morning, 
and  soon  arrived  at  the  spot  where  the  Indians  had 
just  broke  camp,  probably  not  two  hours  before. 
Tlu^re  was  still  fire  burning,  and  remnants  of  a  mule 
which  had  furnished  their  breakfast.  Spiebuck,  after 
closely  examining  the  signs,  said  there  were  less  than 
twenty-five  Indians  in  the  party.  After  going  five 
miles  further,  we  came  in  siglit  of  our  animals  feeding. 
As  the  feed  was  good,  the  Apaches  had  stopped,  and 
some  of  them  were  watching  the  stock,  -vrhile  nine 
were  lying  down  in  a  hollow,  apparently  asleep. 
Dismounting  from  our  mules,  we  advanced  very 
cautiously,  without  being  discovered,  till  we  arrived 
on  the  bank  above  the  sleeping  Indians,  when,  each 
picking  his  man,  we  fired  and  killed  or  wounded  the 
whole  of  them.  At  all  evenis,  we  brought  away  nine 
scalps ;  but  there  were  ten  or  twelve  more  Indians  on 
the  other  side  of  the  mvine,  who  fled  up  the  hillside 
and  escaped,  though  we  fired  at  them  and  pursued 
them  a  short  distance.    Then  we  gathered  our  animals 


70  "mule  venison." 

togetlier  and  started  back  as  quickly  as  possible ;  for 
we  were  within  one  day's  travel  of  the  Apache  nation, 
and  it  was  unsafe  to  stay  long. 

We  started  back  with  more  animals  than  we  lost,  for 
we  gained  several  mules  from  the  Apaches  whom  we 
killed.  We  were  pursued  and  tired  upon,  just  as  we 
arrived  at  the  Rio  Grande,  by  two  hundred  Apaches. 
The  river  having  fallen,  we  forded  it  quickly,  and  were 
not  pursued  beyond  the  river,  for  they  knew  we  were 
prepared  to  give  them  a  warm  reception.  We  reached 
our  camp  safely  with  the  mules,  after  an  absence  of 
two  weeks,  and  found  that  our  friends  had  given  us  up 
for  lost,  knowing  the  light  stock  of  provisions  we  had 
taken  and  the  extreme  danger  of  the  enterprise. 

There  was  great  joy  in  camj)  when  we  returned. 
That  evening  we  carried  out  a  plan  we  had  formed 
while  on  our  return,  to  give  tliose  who  remained  in 
camp  a  taste  of  what  we  had  encountered  in  the  pur- 
suit. They  came  around  us  as  we  were  unsaddling 
our  mules,  and,  seeing  what  remained  of  Barnes's 
Old  ITed,  asked  what  that  was.  We  very  soberly  told 
them  it  was  venison,  —  the  remainder  of  a  fat  buck  we 
had  shot.  As  they  had  been  living  for  some  days 
on  bacon,  beans,  &c.,  they  were  all  very  anxious 
for  pieces  of  it.  We  very  generously  supplied  them, 
and  soon  a  number  of  fires  were  started  and  the  meat 
put  down  to  roast.  They  all  declared  it  to  be  the 
sweetest  meat  they  ever  tasted.  After  they  had  finished 
eating  it,  we  disturbed  their  stomachs  somewhat  by 
telling  them  they  had  been,  feasting  on  Old  Ned,  whom 
they  all  knew  very  well,  wlien  some  of  them  were  dis- 
posed to  resent  it,  but  finally  '^.alled  it  a  good  joke. 

Mr.  Speyers,  having  given  us  up  for  lost,  had  gone 
back  to  Santa  Fe,  to  purchase  a  fr^sli  supply  of  mules, 


STARTING   ACROSS   DEAD   MAN'S   PLAIN.  71 

and  we  immediately  started  a  messenger  to  inform  liim 
of  the  recovery  of  his  animals.  He  had  not  comjjleted 
any  purchases,  and  came  back  at  once.  Upon  seeing 
us  safe,  and  hearing  of  the  perils  of  our  expedition  for 
the  recovery  of  his  mules,  he  was  highly  pleased,  and 
paid  us  liberally,  besides  promising  us  one  hund^d 
dollars  for  each  of  the  nine  Apache  scalps  when  we 
should  arrive  at  Chihuahua,  which  promise  he  faith- 
fully kept. 

Owing  to  the  jaded  condition  of  the  mules,  Mr. 
Speyers  sent  several  wagons  back  ten  miles  to  a 
Mexican  settlement  for  corn,  and  we  rested  five  days, 
herding  the  mules  under  a  double  guard,  day  and 
night.  On  the  sixth  day,  we  started  to  cross  the 
ninety -mile  stretch  of  dessert,  where  there  is  not  a  drop 
of  wuter  or  a  stick  of  Avood.  AVe  started  at  3  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  and  traveled  till  the  next  morning  at 
|6  o'clock,  when  we  were  compelled  to  lay  by  on 
account  of  the  extreme  heat.  We  reamed  our  march 
in  the  evening,  and  thus  traveled  for  three  nights. 
The  second  day,  we  were  overtaken  by  two  Mexican 
mail-carriers,  who  were  nearly  in  a  perishing  condi- 
tion, for  want  of  water  and  provisions,  and  we  supplied 
them.  The  next  night,  while  I  was  driving  the  forward 
team,  I  became  very  sleepy,  and  got  off  and  walked 
alongside  to  keep  awake.  Suddenly  I  stumbled  over 
a  man  lying  in  the  road,  and  fell,  with  my  hand 
striking  his  face,  and  my  flesh  crept  on  my  bones 
when  I  discovered  that  his  head  and  face  were  mashed 
and  bloody.  I  stopped  the  train,  and  Mr.  Speyers, 
who  rode  in  a  carriage,  drove  up,  and  was  considerably 
frightened  when  he  saw,  by  the  light  of  his  lantern, 
that  tlie  body  was  that  of  one  of  the  Mexican  mail- 
riders,  who  had  been  fed  by  us  the  day  before.     We 


% 

72  FALSE   ALARM. 

found,  a  few  feet  distant,  the  body  of  the  other  unfor- 
tunate carrier,  and  both  were  fearfully  gashed  by 
tomahawks. 

Speyers  ordered  Spiebuck  and  a  party  of  our  Indian 
companions  to  go  forward,  and  proceed  cautiously,  for 
fear  of  a  surprise  by  the  Indians.  We  picked  up  the 
dead  men  and  placed  them  in  a  wagon,  and  gathered 
up  the  mails,  which  were  scattered  over  the  ground, 
taking  them  along  with  us.  I  did  n't  feel  sleepy  any 
more  that  night.  We  arrived  at  the  Rio  Grande  the 
next  morning,  where  we  found  a  splendid  camping- 
ground,  and  concluded  to  stop  over  one  day,  as  there 
was  plenty  of  grass,  with  wood  and  water.  Here  we 
buried  the  two  mail-carriers. 

The  Shawnees  went  out  for  game,  and  succeeded  in 
killing  four  deer.  They  reported  that  they  saw  fresh 
tracks  of  Indians,  and  advised  us  to  be  careful.  W  e 
were  so  apprehensive  of  an  attack,  that  we  took  extr^ 
pains  to  secure  ^ur  stock,  and  made  a  Mexican  boy 
sleep  among  the  mules,  holding  the  bell-mare.  This 
was  a  grayish  spotted  mare,  that  all  the  herd  would 
follow.  That  night,  after  changing  the  guard,  the 
camp  was  alarmed  by  the  report  of  a  gun,  and  by 
this  Mexican  running  in  with  his  mare.  We  inquired 
of  him  who  fired  the  gun,  and  one  of  the  guard,  a 
Dutchman  named  Charlie  ]\Iayer,  said  he  discharged 
his  piece  at  an  Indian  who  was  skulking  out  beyond 
the  mules,  and  said  he,  "Follow  me,  boys,  and  I  '11 
show  you  the  Injuns."  A  party  went  with  him,  and, 
discovering  an  object  that,  in  the  darkness,  resembled 
an  Indian,  they  fired  into  it ;  but,  as  it  did  not  move, 
they  went  up  to  it,  and  discovered  that  it  was  only 
a  black  stump,  and  they  returned  to  camp  badly 
sold.      Mr.   Speyers,   noticing   the   stump,    the   next 


ATTEMPTED   SURPRISE.  73 

morning,  with  two  bullet-holes  in  it,  said  it  was  good 
target-practice  for  night-work. 

Next  day  we  proceeded  to  a  place  called  Dona  Anna, 
where  Mr.  Sp<.*yers  reported  to  the  authorities  the 
deaths  of  the  two  mail-carriers,  and  delivered  their 
mail,  or  what  there  was  left  of  it.  He  decided  to  rest 
there  that  day,  and  bought  feed  for  his  stock  of  the 
Mexicans.  I  had  the  ill-luck  that  day  to  break  the 
main-spring  of  my  rifle,  and,  as  I  was  to  have  charge 
of  the  guard  that  night,  Mr.  Speyers  gave  me  a  double- 
barreled  shot-gun,  which  I  put  in  order  and  loaded 
with  hfteen  buck-shot  to  each  barrel.  Our  animals 
were  turned  into  a  field  that  had  no  fence  on  one  side, 
next  the  river,  for  it  was  a  bluff  bank,  four  or  live  feet 
high.  The  Mexicans  told  us  to  beware  of  certain 
Indians  who  were  lurking  about,  stealing  horses,  &c., 
while  they  pretended  to  be  friendly.  My  guard  came 
lon  duty  at  midnight,  and,  after  jjlacing  them  at  favor- 
able points  to  protect  the  mules,  I  took  my  station  on 
the  river-bank,  near  a  cottonwood-tree. 

Soon  after  I  had  thus  taken  my  position,  I  saw  a 
mule  looking  across  the  river  as  though  some  object 
attracted  his  attention.  Turning  my  eyes  in  that  direc- 
tion, and  looking  sharply,  I  noticed  a  shadow  approach- 
ing the  river  from  the  other  side,  which  I  soon  made 
out  to  be  an  Indian,  advancmg  silently  into  the  water. 
The  mule,  becoming  more  alarmed  at  this,  snorted. 

"  "What 's  that? "  whispered  Amos  Hambright,  one 
of  my  guard,  a  few  steps  distant  from  me. 

"Keep  still,"  I  answered  in  a  low  tone,  moving 
toward  him,  and  keeping  the  cottonwood-tree  between 
me  and  the  Indian. 

I  cocked  my  gun,  and  got  down  behind  the  tree,  as  I 
knew  the  fellow  would  come  up  the  bluff  by  the  path, 


74  SHOOTING  A   EAIDER. 

wliich  would  cause  liim  to  pass  within  a  few  feet  of  tlie 
tree.  When  he  liad  got  lialf-way  across  the  river,  he 
was  alarmed  by  the  mule  snorting  a  second  time,  and 
paused  for  some  minutes,  but  finally  came  over  and 
began  crawling  up  the  bank  toward  me.  When  he 
had  got  within  two  or  three  lengths  of  my  gun,  there 
was  another  snort  from  several  mules  in  the  vicinity, 
and  the  Indian  stooped  down,  with  his  back  toward 
me  and  his  face  near  the  ground,  to  listen.  I  thereupon 
poured  into  the  small  of  his  back  fifteen  buck-shot, 
which  killed  liun  instantly.  At  the  noise  of  my  gun, 
I  heard  a  clatter  of  hoofs  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
river,  and  a  "  What 's  the  matter?  "  from  Hambright, 
who  came  running  up. 

"Matter  enough,'-  I  answered;  "I  've  just  killed 
an  Injun,  and  there  are  plenty  more  on  the  other  side." 

The  mules  stampeded,  and  the  Mexican  bell-boy, 
who  had  foolishly  tied  the  bell-mare  to  his  leg,  and 
laid  down  for  a  nap,  was  dragged  some  distance  over 
the  field,  with  the  fiightened  animals  trampling  on 
him.  Not  hearing  from  him,  we  went  in  search,  and 
found  the  poor  fellow  insensible,  with  his  face  mashed 
and  his  ribs  broken  in.  He  was  untied  and  taken  to  a 
wagon,  where  he  remained  some  time  before  coming  to, 
and  he  was  on  the  sick-list  for  a  good  while  after.  The 
bell-mare  was  led  into  our  corral,  which  was  formed 
near  the  road  on  the  outside  of  the  fence,  by  ranging 
the  wagons  in  a  circle,  with  the  wheels  tied  together  by 
ropes,  and  an  opening  at  one  side  like  a  horse- shoe. 
The  mules  all  followed  the  mare  into  the  corral. 

"  Who  fired  that  gun?  "  inquired  Mr.  Speyers. 

"  I  did,"   was  my  reply. 

"Did  you  shoot  another  black  stump?"  was  his 
next  question. 


spiebuck's  peace.  75 

*' No,"  I  said ;  "I  did  n't  slioot  a  black  stump,  but 
I  shot  a  miglity  black  Indian." 

"  I  would  ratlier  see  liim  tlian  to  hear  tell  of  him," 
said  he. 

Several  of  us  took  a  mule  down  to  where  the  Indian 
lay,  and,  tying  a  rope  around  his  neck,  we  fastened 
it  to  the  pommel  of  the  saddle,  and  dragged  the  man 
into  camp. 

"Mr.  Speyers,  here  's  your  stump,"  I  said,  with  a 
laugli. 

"Not  much  stump  about  tliat  fellow,"  said  he, 
gazing  at  him  in  surprise. 

"  AVill  you  have  him  scalped,  or  take  him  as  he  is  ? " 
I  asked. 

"  He  will  do  as  he  is,"  said  Speyers. 

The  Indian  was  scalped,  however,  and  dragged  off 
and  thrown  into  a  hollow.  The  mules  were  let  out 
of  the  corral  again  to  feed  in  the  field,  as  soon  as  we 
saw  there  was  no  more  danger;  while  I  reloaded  my 
gun,  and  went  back  to  my  station,  seeing  no  more 
thieving  Indians  that  night. 

At  breakfast,  next  morning,  Mr.  Speyers  told  me  he 
thought  he  should  raise  his  price  for  the  scalps  of  such 
Indians  as  that,  and  this  one  was  worth  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  He  was  the  biggest  A^Dache 
I  ever  saw,  measuring  full  six  feet  four  inches;  but 
usually  the  Indians  of  that  tribe  are  rather  under  size. 

That  afternoon,  while  we  were  moving  down  the  Rio 
Grande,  nearly  one  hundred  Apaches  ai)]H'ared  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river,  and  made  signs  and  called  to  us 
in  Spanish,  that  they  were  fi'iendl3%  and  wanted  to 
make  peace  with  us.  Spiebuck  shot  one  of  tliem, 
at  the  same  time  calling  out,  that  was  the  peace  he  had 
for  them.     They  then  dispersed,  and  we  saw  no  more 


76  PASO   DEL   NOETE. 

Indians  for  some  time.  The  tliii'd  day  after  tliis,  we 
arrived  at  the  Mexican  town  of  Paso  del  Norte,  a 
place  of  some  eight  thousand  inhabitants.  The  cross- 
ing of  the  river  here  is  dangerous,  as  its  bed  abounds 
in  quicksands.  We  had  to  double  teams  to  each 
wagon,  and  cross  one  at  a  time,  keeping  in  motion ; 
for,  if  allowed  to  stop,  the  wagon  and  mules  sink 
immediately.  Notwithstanding  our  precautions,  one 
of  our  heaviest  loaded  wagons  halted  in  the  middle  of 
the  river,  and  at  once  sank,  till  all  the  goods  were  wet, 
and  we  had  to  pack  the  load  ashore  on  our  men's 
backs,  before  the  wagon  could  be  drawn  out. 

We  remained  at  Paso  del  Norte  six  days,  recruiting 
our  mules  and  drying  our  goods.  We  spent  the  time 
very  pleasantly,  among  other  pleasures  attending  sev- 
eral fandangoes.  The  place  is  handsomely  built  up. 
Fruits  and  grain  are  abundant,  and  the  land  is  rich 
and  well-watered  by  irrigation.  At  this  point,  the 
river  becomes  the  boundary  between  New  Mexico  and 
Chihuahua. 

The  seventh  day  after  our  arrival,  we  renewed  our 
journey  down  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  and  made 
about  fifteen  miles,  when  we  camped.  Spiebuck  said, 
as  we  were  pretty  well  out  of  danger  now  from  the 
Apaches,  he  would  go  out  and  get  a  deer.  Some  half 
an  hour  later,  we  heard  several  shots  in  the  direction 
he  had  gone,  and  ten  of  us  mounted  and  started  off  to 
see  what  was  the  matter,  and,  after  traveling  a  short 
distance,  we  saw  about  twenty  Apaches,  armed  with 
guns,  bows,  and  arrows,  fighting  with  Spiebuck,  who 
was  nowhere  to  be  seen.  The  Indians  ran  when  they 
discovered  us,  and  we,  fearing  they  had  killed  Spie- 
buck, commenced  a  search  for  him,  finding  him  in 
a  little  cave  barely  large  enough  for  him  to  lie  down 


SINGLE-HANDED   FIGHT   WITH   APACHES.  77 

in,  the  mouth  of  which  was  nearly  closed  by  a  large 
stone.  He  could  load  his  ritie  while  he  lay  on  his 
back  as  well  as  standing  up,  and,  using  the  rock  at  the 
mouth  of  tlie  cave  (wliich  was  a  good  protection  for 
his  head)  as  a  rest  for  his  ritie,  he  could  pick  off 
the  Apaches  at  a  long  range.  He  had  Idlled  three 
of  tliem  in  this  manner,  and  escaped  with  sliglit  injuries 
himself,  though  around  the  rock  were  battered  bullets 
and  an  armful  of  arrows.  He  had  got  one  eye  full  of 
sand,  but  thought  the  three  scalps  he  took  off  the 
Apaches'  heads  a  good  thing,  and  better  than  so  many 
deer.  He  went  into  camp  with  the  scalps  elevated  on 
a  pole,  and  attracted  much  attention.  Mr.  Speyers 
complimented  him  for  his  bravery,  and  promised  him 
three  hundred  dollars  for  the  scalps  at  Chiliuahua, 
from  the*  authorities. 

We  traveled  one  day  more  down  the  Rio  Grande, 
and  then,  leaving  the  river,  took  a  southerly  direction 
straight  for  Chihuahua,  arriving  at  Sacramento,  about 
fifteen  miles  from  Chihuahua,  the  fourth  day  after 
leaving  the  river.  Here  we  discharged  and  "cached," 
or  concealed,  four  wagon-loads  of  contraband  goods,  to 
escape  seizure  at  Chihuahua,  and  left  four  of  our 
Shawnees  to  watch  them.  The  next  afternoon,  we 
arrived,  with  our  train,  before  the  custom-house  at 
Chihuahua,  and  an  officer  and  ten  privates  watched 
our  wagons,  to  see  that  no  goods  were  taken  out  till  we 
had  paid  the  duties.  The  next  day,  we  w(^re  allowed 
to  discharge  our  freight,  and  the  first  thing  ^Mr.  Speyers 
did  was  to  establish  a  store  for  trading  purposes. 

Some  six  days  after  our  arrival  at  Chihuahua,  an 
American  named  Riddle  volunteered  to  bring  in  the 
concealed  goods  left  back  at  the  "cache,"  saying  he 
could  do  it  without  danger.     Mr.  Speyers  told  him  to 


78  FAIR  AT  SAN  JUAN. 

bribe  the  custom-liouse  officer,  and  lie  consented.  So 
did  the  custom-house  officer  consent,  for  he  had  been 
bribed  before.  I  was  detailed  to  assist  in  bringing 
in  these  goods  to  the  city.  The  customs  official  in- 
structed us  as  to  which  side  of  the  city  to  come  in, 
agreeing  to  meet  us  a  mile  from  town.  He  met  us, 
with  a  file  of  ten  soldiers,  about  midnight,  and  escorted 
us  secretly  to  a  room,  where  our  goods  were  dis- 
charged, and  the  official  was  paid  one  hundred  dollars, 
which  he  said  was  a  good  night's  job,  —far  better  than 
he  expected,  and  more  than  he  could  make  in  a  month 
out  of  government !  His  soldiers  were  each  presented 
by  Mr.  Speyers  with  a  dollar,  a  pair  of  shoes,  and 
a  bottle  of  whisky,  the  last  of  which  they  could  fully 
appreciate. 

We  stayed  in  Chihuahua  some  two  months  (Novem- 
ber and  December,  1841),  enjoying  ourselves  very  much 
among  the  Mexicans  of  both  sexes,  who  were  remark- 
ably friendly,  as  we  had  plenty  of  money. 

Being  out  of  employment,  and  ready  for  an  adven- 
ture, I  was  selected,  with  several  others  of  the  party, 
to  go  with  a  train  of  wagons  loaded  with  goods  for  the 
fair  at  San  Juan,  which  place  is  very  central  and  con- 
venient for  people  to  meet  from  all  parts  of  Mexico. 
This  trip  occupied  eighteen  days.  This  fair  is  the 
worst  place  I  ever  saw,  for  thieving,  gambling,  and 
vice  of  all  sorts.  The  rich  people  play  a  game  called 
monte,  at  which  they  sometimes  stake  thousands  of 
dollars ;  while  the  lower  classes  indulge  in  bull-fights, 
cock-fights,  and  all  sorts  of  low  gambling.  The  place 
is  situated  near  the  San  Juan  river,  under  a  hill,  and 
there  are  not  over  four  thousand  inhabitants  when 
there  is  no  fair.  This  great  carnival  lasts  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  days,  and  is  thronged  by  Mexicans,  Ameri- 


MEETING   WITH   COMANCIIES.  79 

cans,  French,  Germans,  Spanish,  and  all  sorts  of 
people,  to  tlie  number,  perhaps,  of  lifty  thousand. 
At  the  close  of  tlie  fair,  which  is  intended  for  trading 
purposes  mainly,  we  started  on  our  return. 

One  morning,  while  we  were  on  our  homeward 
journey  through  the  state  of  Durango,  moving  quietly 
along,  tlie  train  of  seventy  wagons  being  stretched 
along  some  two  miles,  I,  being  in  advance,  discovered 
a  body  of  about  four  hundred  Indians.  On  their 
approach,  the  alarm  was  passed  along  to  the  rear 
of  the  train :  "  Corral  your  wagons  and  teams  !  Fix 
for  a  figlit !     The  Indians  are  coming !  " 

Putting  a  white  Hag  on  the  ramrod  of  my  gun,  I 
made  directly  for  the  Indians;  for,  by  certain  pecu- 
liarities, I  knew  they  were  a  war-party  of  Comanches, 
who  were  on  a  Mexican  raid.  One  of  the  party  ad- 
vanced to  meet  me,  in  response  to  signals  I  had  made, 
and,  after  each  had  dropped  our  arms,  we  advanced  for 
a  friendly  greeting.  All  my  friends  were  calling  out  to 
me  to  come  back,  or  I  should  be  kUled.  They  were  not 
aware  of  my  acquaintance  with  the  Comanches,  nor  of 
my  being  able  to  speak  their  language.  Upon  meeting 
the  Indian,  he  Ivnew  me  in  a  moment,  jumped  from  his 
horse,  and  embraced  me.  He  inquired  if  those  were 
my  teams,  and  I  replied  that  they  were.  I  asked  after 
my  wife  and  child  and  otlier  friends  in  tlieii-  tribe.  He 
said  they  were  well,  but  that  my  brother-in-law  ("Old 
Wolf's"  son),  the  first  chief,  had  been  killed,  and  that 
he  was  cliief  in  his  place ;  also,  that  Henry  Brown,  the 
next  in  command,  was  back  in  theii'  war-party.  I  told 
him  to  wait  for  me,  and  I  would  go  and  get  tliem  some 
presents. 

I  soon  returned,  with  pipes,  tobacco,  flannel,  and 
handlverchiefs  for  the  Comanches,  and,  meeting  the 


80  EXPLAlSTATIOISrS   TO   FEIENDS. 

chief  again,  we  went  back  to  where  he  had  left  his 
warriors  formed  for  battle.  Upon  arriving  among  them, 
they  all  knew  me,  dismounted,  and  formed  a  ring  for 
smoking.  I  saw  Henry  Brown,  and  had  a  sociable 
smoke  with  him  and  the  chief  Henry  conld  not  be 
told  from  an  Indian,  except  by  his  long  red  hair,  which 
hung  in  plaits  over  his  shoulders. 

They  asked  me  if  I  knew  where  the  Mexicans  had 
any  horses.  I  answered  that  there  were  horses  in 
almost  every  direction,  probably;  but  the  country 
was  new  to  me,  and  I  was  on  a  peaceable  trading  expe- 
dition. We  then  mounted  our  horses,  and  they  told 
me  not  to  be  afraid  of  them,  but  turn  our  mules  out  to 
feed  at  night,  and  they  would  not  molest  them.  Then, 
with  a  rousing  war-whoop,  they  darted  away  over  the 
plain. 

On  my  return  to  the  train,  our  owners  and  teamsters 
all  gathered  around  me,  asking  what  the  Indians  had 
said.  I  told  them  not  to  be  uneasy  ;  that  I  spoke  the 
Comanche  language,  and  they  were  friendly  Coman- 
ches,  with  a  captive  American  among  them,  who  was 
second  chief.  They  inquired  how  I  came  to  know 
theii'  language,  and  I  explained  by  telling  them  of  my 
four  years'  experience  among  them.  They  were  so 
thankful  for  this  providential  escape  from  the  Indians, 
that  they  made  up  an  extra  purse  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  doUars  for  me  on  our  return  to  Chihuahua. 


cnAPTER  y. 

SOON  after  I  returned  to  Cliiliuahua,  I  was  informed 
that  a  white  man,  named  James  Kirker,  a  Scotcli- 
man,  was  chief  of  the  Apache  nation,  and  that  the  gov- 
ernor of  Chiliuahua  had  offered  a  reward  of  nine  tliou- 
sand  dollars  for  his  head.  The  Apaches  liad  stolen  great 
numbers  of  mules  from  the  State  of  Chihuahua  and 
sold  them  in  New  Mexico,  through  Kirker' s  agency. 
He  had  sold  the  property  and  put  the  money  in  his 
pocket  intending  never  to  return  to  the  Apache  nation. 

Kii-ker  was  a  blue  eyed,  gray  haired  and  gray 
whiskered  man,  about  fifty  years  old,  short  and  stout, 
weighing  probably  about  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
live  pounds.  He  was  a  very  hard  drmking  man,  which 
may  have  had  some  connection  with  liis  mysterious 
death,  as  he  was  found  dead  in  his  cabin  at  Mount 
Diablo,  California,  in  1852.  He  died  poor,  as  his 
habits  were  such  that  he  could  never  keep  what  he 
acquired. 

After  the  governor  offered  the  reward  for  his  life, 
Kirker  desked  to  treat  with  him,  and  proposed  to  h.e\-p 
him  kill  off  the  Apaches,  as  he  knew  their  traits,  and 
would  turn  against  them  if  the  governor  would  co- 
operate with  him  and  spare  his  life.  This  proi)Osal, 
which  was  sent  by  a  friend,  was  accepted,  and  lu^  soon 
};ame  down  to  Chihuahua  for  a  conference  with  gov- 
I'rnor  Trios. 

He  stated  that  he  had  been  taken  prisoner  l)y  the 
Apaches  while  trapping;  that  he  had  no  sympathy 
6 


82  JAMES   KIRKER. 

with  them,  but  liad  taken  the  part  he  had  to  save  his 
own  life  ;  and  that  this  was  the  first  chance  he  had  to 
escape  from  them, 

Mr.  Kirker  then  came  to  ns  Americans  and  Shawnees, 
who  had  come  from  various  quarters  as  teamsters  and 
guards,  and  were  now  out  of  employment.  Spiebuck 
was  at  the  head  of  the  Shawnees  of  our  party,  and  they 
numbered  about  seventy,  and  of  the  Americans  there 
were  nearly  a  hundred  in  the  city  who  regarded  me  as 
their  leader,  now,  as  Kit  Carson  was  absent  at  Bent' s 
Fort. 

Take  the  party  all  together  they  were  a  fearful  set  to 
behold.  But  the  Shawnee  trappers  and  guards  har- 
monized very  well  with  our  teamsters  and  hunters,  as  a 
general  thing,  especially  when  any  danger  was  feared, 
or  an  expedition  planned  against  the  savages.  Then 
all  hands  were  united  as  one  common  brotherhood  ; 
and  we  would  fight  certain  tribes  of  Indians  for  the 
fun  of ,  the  thing,  and  for  common  humanity,  even  if 
we  were  not  offered  a  reward  for  every  scalp. 

Mr.  Ku'ker  asked  us,  when  we  were  mostly  assembled 
together,  whether  we  wanted  to  go  out  on  an  expedi- 
tion to  figlit  the  Apaches. 

Spiebuck,  speaking  for  his  band,  said  if  the  govern- 
ment of  Cliihuahua  would  give  him  fifty  dollars  for 
each  scalp,  he  would  go  along  with  us,  and  risk  but 
what  he  could  clear  his  expenses.  This  proposition 
was  accepted,  the  rest  of  us  consenting  to  the  arrange- 
ment, with  the  proviso  that  we  were  to  have  all  the 
animals  we  should  capture. 

We  at  once  commenced  organizing  our  company  in 
the  "Bull  Pen,"  or  place  for  bull  fighting.  Here  we 
stor(?d  our  arms,  ammunition,  and  accoutrements  for 
our  mules  until  our  company  was  fully  organized  and 


STARTING   FOR  APACHES.  83 

equipped  for  service,  which  did  not  take  long,  as  we 
were  all  anxious  to  be  on  the  road. 

We  got  a  job,  sooner  than  we  expected,  which  prom- 
ised to  be  a  good  thing.  There  was  a  rich  Mexican  in 
Chihuahua  who  sent  his  pack  train  of  sixty  or  eighty 
mules  every  year  to  the  Mexican  coast  for  goods.  On 
its  return  this  year,  1842,  every  man  accompanying 
the  train,  excepting  one,  was  killed  within  ten  miles  of 
Chihuahua,  by  the  Apaches,  and  the  mules  and  goods 
taken  away  by  them.  The  single  person  who  escaped 
came  into  the  city  and  reported  the  facts  of  the  mas- 
sacre and  robbery,  when  the  proprietor  of  the  pack 
train  came  directly  to  us  and  promised  that  he  would 
give  us  half  of  all  the  mules  and  goods  we  could 
recax^ture  fi'om  the  Indians. 

That  night  we  packed  our  provisions,  mounted,  and 
started  off.  We  requested  Mr.  Pores,  the  owner  of  the 
train,  to  send  the  escaped  Mexican  to  show  us  Avhere 
the  murders  were  committed.  Spiebuck  said  all  he 
wanted  w^as  to  get  on  the  track  and  he  would  soon  fix 
the  Indians.  In  the  morning  we  arrived  at  the  place 
of  massacre,  and  found  nme  dead  bodies  horribly 
mutilated,  and  scalped.  We  were  cooking  brealdast 
when  men,  sent  by  the  Mexican  authorities  at  the  re- 
quest of  Mr.  Pores,  arrived  to  take  the  dead  bodies 
into  the  city.  After  a  hasty  breakfast,  we  took  the 
tracks  of  the  Indians,  with  Spiebuck  leading  our  party, 
and  after  going  four  miles  found  a  dead  mule.  This 
mule  was  loaded  with  sugar,  and  had  given  out  and 
been  lanced  and  left  by  the  Apaches.  We  took  off  the 
pack  saddle  and  the  sugar,  putting  it  on  an  extra  mule 
of  our  own. 

Tliat  night  we  reached  the  Indian  camping  ground  of 
the  first  night,  finding  rice,  cofiee,  and  sugar  scattered 


84  ATTACK   ON  APACHE  THIEVES. 

about.  We  stopped  there  for  rest  and  feed,  and,  start- 
ing early,  proceeded  ten  miles  furtlier  the  next  morniag, 
where  we  fonnd  several  more  mules  which  had  given 
out  and  been  left  to  perish  with  their  valuable  loads 
strapped  to  theii*  backs,  the  Indians  having  no  means 
of  saving  the  freight.  We  secured  this  property,  leav- 
ing a  guard  to  watch  it,  and  pusliiiig  ahead  with  all 
the  speed  we  could  muster  out  of  our  tired  animals, 
we  overtook  the  rascals  the  thu-d  day,  and  Spiebuck, 
who  was  in  advance,  bade  us  stop,  so  that  he  could 
reconnoitre  and  lind  out  the  force  of  the  enemy. 

When  he  returned  he  reported  that  the  Indians  were 
all  drunk.  They  had  traveled  as  they  supposed  be- 
yond danger,  and  having  found  a  quantity  of  liquor  in 
their  capture,  were  enjoying  a  good  spree.  There  were 
fort}^- three  of  them,  some  dead  drunk  and  some  asleep, 
so  we  concluded  that  fi'om  theu-  tipsy  condition  they 
would  be  an  easy  prey. 

We  opened  out,  dividing  into  two  squads,  so  as  to 
attack  from  opposite  sides,  and  reached  them  before 
they  noticed  our  approach.  They  were  so  completely 
taken  by  surprise  that  but  few  guns  were  discharged, 
the  most  of  them  being  killed  with  knives  and  toma- 
hawks. The  Shawnees  immediately  scalped  the  whole 
lot,  and  Spiebuck  took  charge  of  the  ghastly  trophies, 
giving  them  a  little  dressing  of  salt,  to  preserve  them 
till  we  saw  the  governor  again  and  got  the  money  for 
them.  We  recovered  sixty  mules  belonging  to  Mr. 
Pores,  and  captured  besides  forty -three  Apache  horses 
and  mustangs.  We  camped  on  the  spot  that  night,  as 
some  of  our  numerous  company  of  Americans  and 
Indians  were  about  as  fond  of  liquor  as  the  Indians  we 
had  killed  ;  and  finding  some  clioice  wines  and  liquors 
in  some  of  the  mule  packs,  they  soon  were  in  no  con- 


AN   APACHE   VILLAGE,  85 

clition  for  trnvclinn:,  and  it  was  difficult  to  find  ('noii<rli 
sober  men  lor  a  guard  for  the  animals. 

As  we  were  within  two  dajs'  march  of  the  principal 
village  of  the  Apaches,  we  decided  to  secrete  our 
goods,  which  were  mostly  of  a  valuable  character,  and 
leave  beliiud  us  such  animals  as  we  should  not  need, 
with  a  guard  over  all,  and  with  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men  all  told,  push  on  and  destroy  the  village, 
securing  what  scalps  we  could.  Nearly  every  man 
was  armed  with  a  rifle  and  pair  of  six  shooters,  and  we 
were  confident  of  the  result.  We  were  guided  by 
Kirker  and  a  Mexican  half-breed,  who  had  lived 
among  the  Apaches  when  Kirker  was  their  chief,  who 
were  in  advance  with  Spiebuck. 

After  two  days'  travel  we  approached  the  main  In- 
dian camp,  and  Spiebuck  bade  us  halt  our  train  while 
he  went  forward  to  take  a  look  at  their  position  and 
learn  theu-  strength.  He  returned  saymg  they  were 
over  a  thousand  in  number,  counting  the  women  and 
children,  but  did  not  fear  the  result.  However,  he 
made  Kirker  go  forward  and  reconnoitre  with  him,  and 
they  both  returned  confident  that  the  odds  were  in  our 
favor.  We  moved  our  stock  into  a  low  ravine  about  a 
mile  and  a  half  from  the  village,  and  left  six  men  to 
w\itch  them.  The  balance  of  us  w^ent  up  on  the  top  of 
a  hill,  where  we  could  look  dow^n  into  the  village  with- 
out being  discovered. 

The  vi(^w  was  splendid.  The  sun  was  just  setting. 
Tlieu-  lodges  were  thicldy  spread  out  in  a  pine  grove 
close  to  a  lovely  lake  some  six  or  eight  miles  across. 
The  sheet  of  water,  so  beautifully  smooth,  resembled 
a  mirror  among  the  hills,  and  there  was  scarcel}-  a 
sound  to  break  thi'  stillness  that  reigned  throughout 
their  camp.     Presently,  a  little  after  sunset,  we  discov- 


8Q  PLAN   OF  ATTACK. 

ered  a  war  party  of  seventy  or  eighty  ApacTies  return- 
ing to  the  village,  from  the  direction  of  Sonora ;  and 
as  they  came  around  the  edge  of  the  lake,  we  saw  that 
they  had  scalps,  and  made  up  our  minds  that  if  we  let 
them  alone  till  daybreak  we  should  do  better  ;  for,  no 
doubt  they  had  made  a  captui-e  of  liquor,  and  would 
have  a  drunken  war  dance  that  night,  which  proved  to 
be  the  result.  Spiebuck  suggested  the  delay,  and  his 
advice  was  always  respected  by  Kirker  and  the  rest 
of  us. 

We  lunched  on  some  provisions  we  had  brought, 
and  then  all  laid  down  to  get  a  little  sleep  till  the  guard 
should  call  us,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Then 
we  jumped  up,  and,  forming  into  two  parties,  made 
preparations  for  the  attack. 

The  day  was  just  breaking  ;  and  Spiebuck,  who  had 
been  down  looking  at  the  enemy  from  a  short  distance, 
said  they  were  nearly  all  overcome  with  liquor,  and 
most  of  them  asleep.  Three  or  four,  however,  were 
staggering  around  a  camp  fire,  and  it  was  important 
that  we  proceed  very  cautiously.  Kirker  led  one  of 
our  parties  around  on  one  side  of  their  camp,  while 
Spiebuck  and  myself  led  the  other  and  posted  it  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  camp.  Kii'ker  had  a  whistle, 
which  he  was  to  blow  when  all  was  ready,  and  then  we 
were  to  rush  in  with  yells,  shoot  all  we  could  at  the 
first  discharge,  and  then  finish  up  with  our  knives  and 
tomahawks. 

Tliere  was  a  huge  negro  in  our  company,  named 
Andy,  who  had  loaded  his  musket  with  buckshot.  I 
X)laced  him  not  far  from  me,  and  close  to  one  of  the 
outside  lodges,  giving  him  orders  not  to  fire  until  he 
heard  Kirker' s  whistle. 

Soon,  an  Indian  caiTie  out  of  the  lodge  near  Andy, 


THE   ATTACK.  87 

and  he  blazed  away,  without  waiting  for  ordei-s.  IL-! 
must  have  put  a  handful  of  buckshot  in  his  gun,  for 
the  savage  was  fairly  riddled.  The  negro  was  kicked 
over  backwards  by  the  gun,  and  the  barrel  flirted  out 
of  the  stock.  Upon  this  alarm,  both  i)arties  rushed 
into  the  light.  I  had  been  looking  at  two  Indians, 
sleeping  in  a  lodge  not  ten  steps  from  me,  and  I  jumped 
for  them,  leveling  my  rifle  at  one,'  while  the  other  ran 
on  all  fours,  between  my  legs,  as  I  stood  in  the  door- 
way, rising  with  me  on  his  neck.  I  managed  to  slip 
off  his  back  in  a  hurry,  and  was  going  to  loiock  him 
down  with  the  gun,  but  he  ran  a  little  distance  and 
undertook  to  shoot  me  with  an  arrow,  but  a  slug  from 
my  rifle  hitting  him  between  the  shoulders,  his  arrow 
fell  at  my  feet,  harmless.  The  other  Indian  escaped 
from  the  opposite  side  of  the  tent  just  m  time  to  save 
himself  from  a  charge  out  of  my  revolver. 

Spiebuck  got  into  a  lodge  where  there  was  a  drunken 
warrior  asleep  among  three  or  four  squaws  and  pa- 
pooses. He  shot  the  man,  and  tomahawked  the  women 
and  children.  By  this  time  our  forces  were  hotly  en- 
gaged all  over  the  camp,  making  every  shot  tell  with 
fearful  effect  on  the  drunken  and  aflFrighted  savages, 
who  were  running  in  all  directions.  Our  Shawnees 
fought  like  devils,  with  their  knives  and  tomahawks, 
after  they  had  discharged  their  guns  ;  while  our  Amer- 
icans, using  tlieu'  rifles  and  revolvers,  were  fast  driving 
the  mi  serai  )1(-  Apaches  into  the  lake,  or  pursuing  them 
across  the  valley. 

I  was  reloading  my  rifle,  when  I  noticed  the  negro, 
Anrty,  had  caught  up  his  gun  barrel  and  was  chasing 
an  unarmed  Indian.  He  threw  the  gun  barrt4  with  all 
his  force  after  the  Indian,  and  it  struck  him  in  the 
back  of  the  head,  loiocking  him  down.     Before  he 


88  KEBUKE   TO   KIRKEK. 

could  arise,  the  negro  was  on  liini.  With  an  old 
butcher  knife  he  then  undertook  to  stab  the  Indian, 
but  the  knife  struck  a  rib  and  glanced  off.  It  was  a 
fierce  tussle,  and  might  have  resulted  badly  for  Andy, 
if  one  of  our  party,  named  Kobert  Fry,  had  not  rush- 
ed in  and  clubbed  the  Indian  with  his  gun,  after  which 
Andy  dispatched  him  easily. 

Man}^  of  the  Apaches  sought  refuge  in  the  nearest 
mountain,  while  others  rushed  into  the  lake  and  were 
drowned  or  shot.  We  lost  the  chance  of  taking  a 
great  many  scalps,  from  bodies  which  sunk  in  the 
lake,  but  as  it  was,  we  took  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
nine,  and  should  have  got  many  more  if  the  brave  but 
stupid  negro  had  not  discharged  his  gun  prematurely. 

The  Apaches  had  their  animals  in  a  bottom,  or  flat, 
near  the  lake,  and  they  started  to  run  them  off.  They 
were  followed  by  the  Shawnees,  who  forced  them  to 
abandon  the  attempt,  and  they  had  to  flee  for  their 
lives,  while  the  Shawnees  gathered  together  nearly  a 
thousand  horses,  mules,  and  mustang  ponies.  Truly, 
a  valuable  prize. 

The  Indian  chief,  "Cachese,"  had  recognized  Kirker 
as  the  leader  of  this  attacking  party,  who  liad  made 
such  fearful  havoc  with  his  tribe,  and  when  he  had 
reached  the  top  of  the  hill  with  some  of  his  followers, 
who  were  fortunate  enough  to  escape,  he  turned 
around  to  look  at  the  destruction  of  his  camp.  Kii'ker 
was  gazing  at  him ;  and  when  the  Apache  chief  saw 
Kirker,  he  asked  him  what  he  meant  by  fighting  them 
in  this  manner.  Was  he  not  their  war  chief?  And 
had  they  not  treated  him  like  a  brother  always  1  And 
was  he  no  longer  their  friend  ? 

Turning  to  flee,  with  the  feeble  remnant  of  his  once 
powerful  tribe,  he  declared  in  a  loud  voice,  intended 


PUNISHMENT   OF   ANDY.  89 

for  many  of  us  to  hear,  that  Kirkn-  was  the  last  white 
man  he  woiikl  ever  put  any  conlidence  in.  Kiiker  felt 
the  rebuke  keenly,  but  allowed  the  broken-hearted 
chief  to  escape. 

Kirker  ordered  me  to  take  twenty  men,  at  once,  and 
go  and  bring  in  our  animals,  and  the  six  men,  which 
we  had  left  behind  in  the  ravine.  This  I  did  mthout 
delay,  for  there  was  some  danger  of  their  being  cap- 
tured by  the  retreating  Apaches.  When  we  had  got 
them  united  with  the  thousand  animals  taken  from  the 
Apaches,  we  were  all  ready  to  start  on  the  return  trip 
to  Chihuahua,  provided  our  Shawnees  had  tinished 
scalping  the  Apaches. 

On  my  return  to  the  grove,  among  other  startling 
and  singular  spectacles,  was  our  negro  Andy,  tied  to  a 
tree,  and  groaning,  and  calling  loudly  for  help.  Kir- 
ker and  Spiebuck  took  this  method  of  punishing  liim 
for  firing  his  gun  too  soon.  By  my  advice,  the  poor 
fellow  was  released;  but  not  till  after  Spiebuck  had 
threatened  his  life  if  he  ever  disobeyed  orders  again. 
He  said  the  reason  he  did  not  scalp  him  then  was  be- 
cause his  Idnky,  wool}'  scalp  would  not  fetch  a  cent. 

Among  the  slain,  was  found  the  body  of  our  Mexi- 
can half-breed  guide,  who  had  assisted  in  piloting  us 
to  this  place.  He  had  got  frightened  when  the  tight 
commenced,  and  started  to  run,  when  a  Shawnee  had 
thrown  a  tomahawk  at  him,  which  struck  him  on  the 
head  and  killed  him. 

"Here,"  said  Spiebuck  to  some  of  his  Shawnees, 
"scalp  that  fellow." 

"No,"  we  replied,  "he  is  our  guide." 

"No  difference,"  answered  Spiebuck,  "he  is  dead 
now;  he  won't  know  it ;  and  his  scalp  is  worth  fifty 
dollars,  and  is  as  good  as  any." 


90  ANCIENT   EUINS. 

So  tliey  scalped  our  friend,  to  please  Spiebuek. 

At  tills  figlit,  we  rescued  a  number  of  Mexican  wo- 
men and  children,  and  made  prisoners  of  nineteen 
young  Apaclie  squaws.  In  scouting  around  tlie  head 
of  the  lake,  on  the  opposite  hill-side  we  found  about 
three  hundred  head  of  sheep  and  goats,  which  the 
Apaches  had  no  doubt  stolen  from  the  Mexicans,  and 
we  took  them  to  camj)  and  gave  them  in  charge  of  the 
Mexican  women  and  childi'en. 

We  found,  close  to  this  lake,  on  a  small  stream  of 
water,  some  ancient  ruins, — the  cement  w^alls  and 
foundation  stones  of  a  church ;  and  a  lignum  vitee 
cross,  which  seemed  as  sound  as  ever  it  had  been.  We 
also  found  remains  of  a  smelting  furnace,  a  great 
quantity  of  cinders,  and  some  dross  of  silver  and 
copper.  From  the  appearance  of  the  ruins,  it  seemed 
as  if  there  had  once  been  a  considerable  town  there. 
The  lake  was  the  head  waters  of  the  river  Yagui. 

Gabe  Allen,  who  was  in  our  company,  found  in  a 
hollow,  a  piece  of  gold,  nearly  pure  and  weighing  ten 
ounces.  That  afternoon  we  met  in  council,  reporting 
to  Kirker  the  finding  of  the  ruins,  the  gold  specimens, 
etc.  He  said  that  there  was  extreme  danger  of  having 
two  or  three  thousand  warriors  down  on  us  if  we  staid 
there  long  enough  for  the  whole  Apache  nation  to  be 
aroused.  He  therefore  counseled  the  utmost  haste  in 
leaving  the  country,  even  if  it  abounded  in  gold  speci- 
mens. We  had  a  flock  of  sheep  to  hinder  us  in  trav- 
eling, and  a  large  drove  of  other  animals  to  attend  to. 
So  w^e  packed  up  at  once  for  Chihuahua,  thinking  we 
could  return  at  some  future  day,  with  a  larger  force, 
and  dig  gold. 

We  left  the  country  with  regret,  for  it  possessed 
marvelous  beauty,  fertile  soil,  and  had  every  indica- 


SriEBUCK   AXD   SPEXCER.  91 

tion  of  ricli  mines,  unwoiked,  probably,  by  civilized 
man,  to  this  day.  Besides  the  remains  of  furnaces, 
we  saw  old  mine  shafts,  that  had  been  worked,  appar- 
ently long  before,  by  Mexicans.  Specimens  of  gold, 
silver,  and  copper  ore  that  we  took  to  the  mint  at  Chi- 
huahua, wcn-e  assayed  and  pronounced  very  rich. 

For  the  information  of  the  public,  let  me  state  more 
particulai-ly,  that  this  lake  is  on  the  westerly  side  of 
the  Sierra  Madre  (Mother  Mountain),  between  the 
States  of  Sonora  and  Chihuahua.  The  valleys  in  the 
vicinity  are  broad,  and  the  soil  well  adapted  for  culti- 
vation. Around  the  lake  were  growing  large  quantities 
of  wild  Indian  tobacco. 

On  arriving  at  the  place  where  we  left  the  property 
of  Mr.  Pores  with  a  guard,  we  found  it  all  safe  as  we 
had  left  it ;  the  animals,  it  will  be  recollected,  had 
already  been  joined  with  ours.  Considering  our  ex- 
traordinary luck,  Kirker  thought  it  best  to  examine 
the  goods,  and  see  if  there  was  not  a  little  good  liquor 
left;  and  as  a  consequence,  most  of  our  force  got 
drunk,  for  they  found  nearly  twenty  gallons  of  choice 
whisky  in  bottles  among  the  goods. 

The  next  morning,  while  on  the  march,  a  man  named 
John  Spencer,  being  ahead,  saw  a  deer  asleep  on  the 
side  of  a  hill,  with  his  head  laid  over  on  his  side.  He 
dismounted,  and  was  slipping  along  to  get  a  good  shot 
at  the  deer  without  alanning  him,  when  Spiebuck,  wlio 
was  just  behind  him,  cocked  his  riii(%  and  about  the 
time  Spencer  was  going  to  shoot,  burst  out  with  a  tre- 
mendous war  whoop,  and  as  the  deer  jumped  up  to 
run,  shot  him,  while  Spencer  stood  silent  and  amazed. 

"Go  and  get  your  deer,"  said  Spiebuck,  stt^'uly, 
"and  never  take  advantage  of  a  poor  animal,  while 
lie's  asleep." 


92  ESCAPE   OF   ONE   OF  THE   SQUAWS. 

Spencer  secured  liis  deer,  and  it  made  a  capital  sup- 
per that  niglit,  for  some  of  us,  but  Spencer  looked 
bluisli,  and  didn't  relish  the  reproof,  as  it  reflected  on 
his  skill  with  the  rifle. 

Late  in  the  afternoon,  just  before  we  camped,  I  was 
made  the  victim  of  misplaced  confidence,  and  in  a  way 
which  did  not  tend  to  raise  me  in  the  estimation  of 
Spiebuck. 

I  was  at  the  rear  of  the  tram,  riding  carelesslj^  along 
in  company  with  the  young  squaws,  and  some  of  the 
Mexicans  we  had  rescued.  On  coming  to  a  small 
stream  of  water,  one  of  the  squaws  made  known  by 
signs  that  she  wanted  a  drink.  I  dismounted,  drank 
myself,  and  told  one  of  the  Mexican  boys  to  carry  her 
some  water  in  his  gourd,  while  I  fixed  my  saddle, 
which  had  got  loose,  laymg  my  gun  down  for  that 
purpose. 

The  whole  train  was  ahead.  The  squaw  seeing  her 
chance  for  an  escape,  broke  the  gourd  over  the  boy's 
head,  drenching  him  with  water,  and  wheelmg  her 
horse,  she  was  off  in  a  twinkling.  Although  we  ex- 
pected to  realize  the  same  sum  for  the  squaw  prisoners 
as  for  the  scalps,  I  could  not  think  of  shooting  this 
young  girl,  for  she  was  barely  sixteen  years  of  age, 
even  if  in  addition  to  her  own  scalp,  she  did  take 
away  one  of  our  horses.  I  went  forward  to  Kirker, 
and  reported  that  one  of  the  squaws  had  escaped,  and 
gave  the  particulars. 

Spiebuck  was  quite  indignant,  and  said  he  would 
have  shot  her  if  he  had  been  in  the  rear  of  the  train, 
and  there  would  have  been  a  scalp  and  a  horse  saved. 
Before  we  started  next  morning,  Spiebuck  mounted 
all  the  squaws  on  the  poorest  animals  we  had,  so  they 
could  not  get  a  chance  to  run  away. 


RECEPTION   AT   CIIIIIUAIIUA.  93 

Tlie  next  day  we  readied  tlie  Mexican  settlement  of 
San  Andreas,  wliere  we  laid  over  two  days,  on  account 
of  our  pack  mules  having  very  sore  backs.  We  then 
resumed  the  march,  and  in  three  days  more  arrived  in 
Chihuahua,  having  traveled  slowly,  on  account  of  the 
sheep  and  goats.  Our  arrival  was  anticipated ;  for 
Mexican  couriers  had  gone  ahead  and  reported  to  the 
governor  that  we  were  coming,  with  many  prisoners, 
scalps,  and  a  large  drove  of  captured  animals. 

Five  miles  out  of  the  city,  we  met  the  governor, 
with  a  band  of  music,  his  wih^  with  him  in  a  carriage, 
and  hundreds  of  people,  who  had  come  out  to  greet 
us  with  a  cordial  welcome. 

The  governor  pronounced  us  a  brave  set  of  men,  and 
inquired  how  many  men  we  had  lost.  We  rejiorted 
that  the  half-breed  Mexican,  who  went  out  as  our 
guide,  and  two  Shawnees  were  killed,  and  two  or  three 
slightly  wounded. 

Spiebuck,  who  had  charge  of  the  scalps,  which  were 
packed  on  a  mule,  ordered  the  driver  up  to  show  them 
to  the  governor. 

"What  d'ye  think  o'  them  fellers?"  said  Spiebuck, 
triumphantly,  to  the  governor. 

The  governor  asked  him  how  many  there  were. 
Spiebuck  replied  that  there  were  one  hundred  and 
eighty -two ;  b<?sides  a  good  many  sunk  in  the  lake 
before  he  could  get  them  off.  Also,  eighteen  good 
scalps  on  the  heads  of  as  many  squaws  we  had 
brought  along  as  prisoners. 

This  declaration  amused  the  governor  very  much, 
and  he  ordered  the  liveliest  music  while  we  were  being 
escorted  in.  When  we  arrived  at  the  plaza  in  front  of 
the  palace,  three  cheers  were  given  by  the  great  crowd 
around,    for    Captain    Kirker  and  our  party.      The 


94  DELIVERY   OF   SCALPS. 

scalps  were  then  connted  and  delivered  to  tlie  gov- 
ernor, and  a  receipt  taken.  After  tliis  receipt  was 
given,  Spiebuck  brought  up  the  Indian  girls,  and  said, 
"Here's  eighteen  more."  The  governor  refused  to  re- 
cieve  them  as  scalps,  or  to  pay  for  them  at  any  price, 
when  Spiebuck  said  if  all  he  wanted  was  to  have  their 
scalps  taken  off,  it  was  but  a  small  job ;  and  taking 
out  his  hunting  knife,  started  for  one  of  the  girls,  who 
ran  screaming  and  terrified  towards  me  for  protection. 
The  governor  then  called  out  to  him  to  hold  on,  for  he 
would  pay  for  them  as  scalps.  He  took  charge  of 
them,  and  locked  them  up  in  a  room  by  themselves. 

After  this  part  of  the  business  had  been  transacted, 
Kirker  brought  forward  the  rescued  women  and  chil- 
dren, and  delivered  them,  stating  that  we  looked  to  the 
authorities  to  send  them  home.  For  our  part,  we 
made  them  a  present  of  the  sheep  and  goats,  and 
looked  to  the  citizens  of  Chihuahua  to  come  forward 
liberally  with  gifts  of  clothing,  etc.,  as  they  were  very 
destitute.  The  governor  cheerfully  promised  to  assist 
them. 

We  now  v/ent  to  the  Bull  Pen,  and  deposited  our 
arms  and  accoutrements,  discharged  our  cargo,  sent 
our  animals  to  a  pasture,  under  protection  of  Mexicans 
provided  by  the  governor,  and  went  to  a  grand  dinner 
which  had  been  gotten  up  in  our  honor,  and  served  in 
the  palace.  It  was  splendid,  and  enjoyed  by  all  of  us ; 
and  after  dinner  we  were  invited,  by  the  governor,  to 
attend  a  ball,  which  he  said  he  had  prepared  for  us,  to 
come  off  that  evening.  Spiebuck  responded  that  he 
was  no  dancer,  but  he  could  drink  his  share  of  wine 
and  whisky  ;  which  we  knew  to  be  the  truth. 

Thi;  ball  commenced  at  eight  o'clock,  and  we 
amused  ourselves  previous  to  that  hour,  by  marching 


YIF^TT   TO    Mil.    POKES.  95 

arouncl  town,  visiting  our  friends ;  for  everybody  was 
anxious  to  entertain  the  Apache  (^orajjany. 

Kirker  and  I  went  to  see  Mr.  Pores,  the  owner  of 
the  train  we  had  recaptured  from  the  Apache  rol)bers. 
He  was  overjoyed  at  our  success,  and  we  arranged  to 
divide  everything  tlie  next  morning,  excejjt  the 
whisky.  Tliat,  we  told  him,  would  be  impossible,  for 
what  the  Apaclies  didn  t  drink  uj),  our  party  had  fln- 
ished.  This  he  laughed  at,  and  thought  we  deserved 
much  praise  for  what  we  had  done  towards  wiping  out 
that  miserable  Apache  nation  ;  and  promised  to  assist 
us  in  any  further  military  movements.  We  appreci- 
ated his  offer,  for  he  could  do  a  great  deal  for  us,  as 
his  property  in  Mexico  was  reported  to  be  worth  two 
millions  of  dollars. 

Leaving  oiu'  friend  Pores,  we  w^ent  around  to  Mr. 
Speyers'  s  store.  He  was  glad  to  welcome  us  back,  and 
presented  Mr.  Kirker  and  myself  with  a  new  suit  of 
clothes,  in  which  to  attend  the  ball.  The  hospitality 
of  the  saloon  keepers  in  the  city  was  so  great,  that  our 
Shawnee  friends  were  very  much  elated,  and  went 
whooping  and  yelling  over  the  town,  like  wild  men. 

At  eight  o'clock  we  w^nt  to  the  ball.  Xot  more 
than  ten  of  our  company  attended,  as  most  of  them 
were  too  much  intoxicated  to  get  there.  Soon  after 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  we  returned  to  our  bar- 
racks in  the  Bull  Pen,  and  slept  till  noon.  Rising  at 
the  call  of  a  messenger,  we  found  an  invitation  for 
several  of  us  to  attend  a  complimentary  dinner  at 
Riddle  &  Stephens's  hotel.  After  dinner,  we  went  to 
Mr.  Pores' s,  and  with  him  and  his  son,  proceeded  to 
the  division  of  the  recovered  property,  dividing  equal- 
'  ly  all  the  mules  that  bore  his  brand.  xVnd  we  also 
turned  over  to  him  half  the  goods,      xifter  this  was 


96  COXFEREXCE  WITH   THE   GOVERIS-OR. 

done,  he  gave  iis  a  bill  of  sale  of  our  share  of  the 
property  ;  thus  showing  himself  to  be  a  gentleman,  as 
well  as  a  man  of  business. 

A  day  or  two  after  this  division,  we  went  to  Mr. 
Potts' s  mint  with  our  metallic  ores,  which  we  requested 
him  to  assay.  He  found  them  very  rich  in  gold,  silver, 
and  copper.  We  had  some  virgin  copper,  apparently 
pure  metal,  that  assayed  twenty-five  per  cent.  gold. 

Next  day  we  visited  the  governor,  to  talk  over  mat- 
ters relating  to  our  agreement.  He  said  he  had  not 
funds  to  pay  us  for  over  forty  scalps,  but  w^ould  settle 
for  the  balance  soon.  Kirker,  Spiebuck,  and  myself 
were  present.  Spiebuck  said  that  was  no  way  to  do 
business.  It  was  not  the  way  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment did  their  business,  for  they  always  performed 
their  agreements.  We  received  the  pay  for  forty 
scalps  ($2000)  and  asked  the  governor  how  long  before 
he  would  pay  the  balance.  He  answered  that  all  the 
tobacco  in  Mexico  belonged  to  the  government,  and  as 
fast  as  he  could  sell  it  he  would  pay  us.  We  left  the 
palace,  and  went  up  to  the  Bull  Pen,  and  calling  to- 
gether all  hands,  reported  what  had  taken  place. 

This  Bull  Pen,  as  we  called  it,  was  the  amphitheater, 
where  they  had  bull  fights,  and  made  a  very  conveni- 
ent head-quarters  for  our  noisy,  reckless  party. 

The  money  received  by  us  for  the  forty  scalps,  was 
then  divided  equally  among  the  party.  Spiebuck  was 
very  indignant  at  not  receiving  his  money,  and  said  he 
would  not  work  any  more  for  such  a  government. 
Kirker  and  I  advised  him  to  join  with  us  in  an  expe- 
dition to  the  region  we  had  just  visited.  It  was  the 
richest  country  in  the  world,  Kirker  thought,  and  if 
tlie  government  was  too  poor  to  pay  us  for  scalps,  we 
could  make  our  fortunes  digging  gold. 


EECAPTUnED    AXIMALS    CLAIMED.  97 

The  matter  had  been  under  discussion  three  or  four 
^ays,  when  one  day  tlie  Mexican  boys  wlio  liad  cliarge 
of  our  animals,  came  in  and  reported  tliat  there  were 
Mexicans  at  tlie  pasture  claiming  the  horses  and  mules 
we  had  taken  from  the  Apaches.  Kirker  went  and 
had  a  conference  with  the  governor,  reminding  him  of 
the  contract  that  we  were  to  have  all  we  could  take 
from  the  Indians,  besides  fifty  dollars  a  scalp.  He 
found  several  parties  of  Mexicans  talking  to  the  gov- 
ernor, with  their  branding-irons  in  their  hands,  and 
saying  it  was  their  property,  and  they  had  a  right  to 
take  it  wherever  they  could  iind  it. 

"Governor,"  said  Kirker,  "you  knew,  when  you 
made  this  written  agreement,  that  animals  recaptured 
by  us  from  the  Indians,  were  liable  to  be  claimed  by 
various  owners,  but  you  promised  it  should  be  ours. 
Otherwise  what  paj^  do  we  get  for  risking  our  lives  in 
recovering  mules,  &c.  If  your  government  is  so  weak 
and  rotten  that  3'ou  can't  sustain  yourselves,  and  keep 
your  promises,  then  let  us  know  it." 

"It  is  their  property,"  replied  the  governor,  "and 
the  law  gives  it  to  them ;  therefore,  the}^  can  take  it, 
though  I  am  sorry  that  any  of  the  animals  should  be 
claimed,  after  your  i)arty  have  done  so  nobly." 

Kirker  returned  and  reported  what  had  tak(^n  place 
at  the  palace.  Spiebuck  immediately  commenced 
arming  his  Indians,  saying  he  would  just  as  lief  scalp 
the  governor  of  Chihuahua  as  anj^body  else.  "We 
asked  Spiebuck  what  it  was  best  to  do  in  the  matter. 
He  said  he  was  going  out  to  take  cliarge  of  the  ani- 
mals, and  if  any  one  claimed  the  property  he  would 
suffer  for  his  interference.  He  went  to  the  pasture, 
and  found  a  Mexican  riding  around  among  the  mules, 
looking  at  them.  Riding  up  to  him,  Spiebuck  struck 
7 


98  SPIEBUCK   IN   WAR-PAINT. 

him  on  the  back  of  tlie  head  with  the  flat  side  of  his 
tomahawk,  knocking  him  off  liis  horse.  After  the 
Mexican  got  up,  he  told  him  to  leave ;  if  he  ever 
caught  him  there  again  he  would  scalp  him.  The 
Mexican  left  in  a  huriy. 

Tlien  Spiebuck  went  to  the  Mexicans  who  had  been 
furnished  with  orders  to  take  away  their  animals.  He 
ordered  them  all  to  leave  instantly,  or  his  Shawnee 
warriors  would  show  them  no  mercy.  They  left  at 
once,  and  reported  to  the  governor  that  Spiebuck  and 
party  were  dangerous  fellows ;  had  called  them 
thieves,  and  ordered  them  to  leave  the  place. 

Learning  that  the  governor  had  taken  sides  against 
us  in  behalf  of  these  pretended  owners  of  the  stock, 
our  whole  party  became  infuriated,  as  they  saw  six  or 
eight  hundred  soldiers  collecting,  by  order  of  the  gov- 
ernor, at  the  barracks  near  the  palace.  Spiebuck  put 
a  strong  guard  over  the  animals,  then  went  to  the  Bull 
Pen,  put  on  Ms  feather  cap,  painted  his  face,  took  a 
large  drink  of  whisky,  and  started  for  the  governor ; 
with  Kirker  and  myself,  besides  a  number  of  his 
Shawnees,  foUovdng  after  him  to  jDrevent  any  collision, 
or  open  rupture. 

He  rode  straight  to  the  governor's  door,  passing 
through  a  file  of  soldiers,  who  vainly  tried  to  stop 
him.  The  sergeant  of  the  guard  said  the  governor 
was  busily  occupied,  and  could  not  be  seen.  Kirker 
and  Spiebuck  insisted  on  going  in,  and  soon  the  door 
was  open  for  them  to  enter.  The  governor  promised  that 
none  of  the  animals  should  be  taken  away  at  present ; 
but  said  he  understood  that  Spiebuck  had  knocked  a 
man  off  his  horse,  and  advised  him  to  be  less  violent. 
Spiebuck  was  a  little  better  satisfied,  and  we  all  re- 
turned to  the  Bull  Pen,  for  a  consultation.    He  sent 


DIVISION   OF   PROPERTY.  99 

down  instnictions  to  the  guard  over  the  mules,  to 
shoot  the  lirst  Mexican  that  came  skulking  around 
after  the  animals. 

"Mr.  Kirker,"  said  he,  the  morning  after  these  oc- 
currences, ' '  if  you  want  to  stay  in  such  a  country  as 
this  is,  you  can  do  so,  but  I  am  going  to  take  my  por- 
tion of  the  animals,  and  leave.  To-morrow  or  next 
day  the  governor  will  come  down  on  us  with  six  or 
eight  liundred  troops,  and  then  we  can't  do  anything 
but  submit  to  his  infamous  treacher3^" 

Kirker  insisted  on  his  staying,  sajing  that  even  if 
we  lost  a  portion  of  the  animals,  our  organization 
should  be  kept  up.  It  would  be  advantageous  in  the 
end,  and  a  large  additional  force  could  be  speedily  got 
together  to  go  with  us  and  work  the  mines  we  had 
discovered ;  but  it  was  useless  to  argue  the  case  with 
Spiebuck,  for  nothing  but  a  separation  would  satisfy 
him.  The  whole  force  was  therefore  called  together, 
and  a  fair  division  made  of  the  property. 

I  told  Kirker  I  would  take  my  share  of  the  animals 
with  Spiebuck,  and  the  Shawnees  took  charge  of  their 
portion,  as  well  as  mine.  Having  concluded  to  go 
along  with  Spiebuck' s  party,  I  was  soon  packed  up, 
saddled,  and  ready  for  a  start  for  New  Mexico ;  our 
party  now  numbering  only  about  seventy  men. 

The  whole  city  was  aware  of  our  departure,  but  no 
attempt  was  made  to  detain  us,  or  to  get  possession  of 
our  stock ;  probably  for  prudential  reasons,  for  they 
knew  we  would  fight  for  them.  We  afterwards  learn- 
ed that  they  took  most  of  the  ponies  and  mules  that 
remained  with  the  other  party. 

As  we  rode  out  of  the  place,  bidding  good  bye  to 
Kirker  and  all  our  friends  who  remained,  Spiebuck 
remarked  to  Kirker  that  he  had  but  one  regret  on 


100  OLD   FRIEXDS. 

leaving  Cliiliualiiia,  and  that  was  tliat  he  had  not  the 
governor's  scalp  to  cany  along  with  him. 

We  traveled  fast,  and  reached  Santa  Fe  in  eighteen 
days,  where  we  stopped  a  week  to  recruit  our  animals. 
I  sold  to  a  party  of  traders  there,  all  of  my  animals, 
except  the  two  mules  presented  me  by  "Wolf"  and 
the  horse  given  me  by  my  wife.  These  were  prized  by 
me  as  keepsakes,  and  I  had  taken  the  best  care  of 
them,  and  money  could  not  buy  them.  The  others 
brought  me  about  $2500. 

In  Santa  Fe  I  had  the  great  pleasure  of  meeting  my 
friend  John  Batiste.  I  inquired  after  Kit  Carson  and 
Peg-leg  Smith.  He  told  me  they  were  probably  at 
Bent's  Fort.  This  was  in  the  year  1843,  and  as  over 
three  years  had  elapsed  since  I  was  at  the  fort,  I  felt 
quite  anxious  to  see  our  old  friends,  the  trappers,  and 
as  John  was  staying  in  Santa  Fe  for  a  few  days  only, 
on  business  for  Bent,  and  would  return  soon  to  the 
fort,  we  agreed  to  make  the  trip  together. 


I    ^-^^    "'^z^: 


CHAPTER  YI. 

AFTER  spending  a  week  very  pleasantly  at  Santa 
Fe,  — for  we  found  many  old  friends  there,  —  Spie- 
buck  concluded  to  go  to  Bent's  Fort,  with  John  Batiste 
and  me,  taking  along  with  him  most  of  his  Shawnees. 
Tliinking  it  best  for  me  to  revisit  my  Indian  home 
among  the  Comanches,  as  soon  as  I  had  stayed  a  while 
at  the  fort,  I  laid  in  a  stock  of  presents  for  my  wife 
and  child,  father-in-law,  and  others  in  the  tribe.  I 
then  informed  Spiebuck  and  Batiste  that  I  was  ready 
to  start  the  next  morning  for  the  fort,  and  would 
advise  that  we  go  by  way  of  Taos  mountain,  which 
was  agreed  to. 

On  our  way  over  the  mountain,  at  a  place  called  the 
Moro,  the  ^Mexicans  stole  in  the  night  some  eight  or  ten 
of  Spiebuck' s  animals.  Tliere  were  four  of  the  thieves, 
and  we  tracked  them,  killing  two,  the  other  two  escap- 
ing in  the  mountains,  but  the  animals  we  recovered. 
After  four  days'  travel,  we  arrived  at  Bent's  Fort, 
where  we  were  received  with  many  demonstrations  of 
joy.  Bent  and  Savery  purchased  all  the  mules  that 
Spiebuck  and  his  friends  could  spare,  at  good  prices, 
—  about  seventy -five  dollars  a  head.  The  Sha^raees 
wQve  dc^lighted  to  receive  so  much  gold  for  their  ani- 
mals, and,  before  they  got  away  from  the  fort,  some  of 
it  was  spent  for  choice  brandies,  wines,  whiskies,  &c. 
They  intended  to  make  a  short  stop  only  at  the  fort,  as 
they  were  on  their  way  to  tlieir  old  liomes,  on  the 
Shawnee  reservation,  near  Westport,  Mo.    However, 


102  START   FOR  THE   COMANCIIES. 

they  stayed  here  several  days,  feasting  and  carousing. 
Bent  was  fitting  np  a  large  train,  to  take  over  forty 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  furs  to  Independence,  Mo., 
thence  to  be  shipped  on  steamboats  to  St.  Louis.  I 
was  requested  to  take  charge  of  the  train.  I  told  him 
of  my  plan  to  see  my  old  Comanche  friends,  and  visit 
my  wife  and  child ;  therefore  I  could  not  accommodate 
him.  Finally,  Mr.  Savery  decided  to  go  himself  with 
the  train,  and  they  engaged  Spiebuck  and  his  band  to 
escort  the  train  till  it  was  out  of  danger. 

When  the  train  was  ready,  it  consisted  of  twenty -four 
ten-mule  teams,  loaded  with  furs  and  provisions.  I 
went  with  them  to  the  crossing  of  the  Big  Arkansas 
river,  some  four  days'  travel,  and  on  my  route  to  the 
Comanches.  There  I  took  out  of  a  wagon  the  presents 
I  had  bought  at  Santa  Fe  for  my  family,  and  two 
bottles  of  whisky  (which  I  knew  "Old  Wolf"  was 
fond  of),  and,  mounting  Limber  Bill,  the  horse  my 
wife  had  given  me,  and  leading  my  two  mules  or  jacks 
(Brigham  Young  and  Heber  Kimball,  as  I  had  called 
them),  I  bade  my  companions  farewell,  and  started 
across  the  country  alone,  for  the  only  spot  on  this 
broad  earth  that  I  could  call  my  home. 

The  Shawnees  had  tried  in  vain  to  persuade  me  to  go 
along  to  Missouri  with  them,  and  see  my  father  and 
relatives ;  but  the  painful  recollections  of  my  boyhood 
prevented.  I  did,  however,  send  a  letter  to  my  father, 
by  them,  which  they  promised  to  deliver,  in  which  I 
told  him  of  my  health  and  prospects,  and  sent  my 
regards  to  my  relatives  and  friends  of  my  childhood. 
Spiebuck  was  the  most  urgent  of  all  for  me  to  continue 
with  them.  He  even  called  me  crazy,  to  start  alone  on 
such  a  visit,  though  he  knew  I  was  familiar  with  the 
country. 


DANGER  FROM  WOLVES.  103 

The  first  niglit  out,  I  came  near  being  eaten  up  by 
the  gray  wolves.  They  caused  one  of  my  mules  to 
break  loose,  and  I  had  a  great  deal  of  trouble  getting 
hold  of  it  in  the  morning.  There  were  eight  or  ten 
wolves  around  me  in  plain  sight,  growling,  snuffing, 
and  wl lining,  and  I  could  not  sleep,  fearing  they  might 
cut  my  rawhide  ropes  with  their  teeth,  and  let  all  my 
animals  loose.  I  scared  them  off,  by  throwing  powder 
into  the  lire,  and  they  did  not  return.  The  smell  of 
powder  is  dreaded  by  all  wild  animals.  My  camp-fire 
was  made  of  buffalo-chips  and  little  wild  cherry-tree 
bushes.  I  had  to  fasten  my  mules  to  this  small  brush, 
though  I  often  carried  iron  stakes  to  drive  into  the 
ground  when  there  was  nothing  strong  enough  growing 
in  the  way  of  trees  or  shrubbery. 

I  rode  hard  next  day,  and  in  the  afternoon  was  sadly 
disappointed,  on  arriving  at  the  old  Comanche  camp, 
to  find  it  moved.  I  unsaddled  and  staked  out  my 
animals,  studying  what  to  do.  I  made  me  a  cup 
of  coffee,  and  roasted  a  piece  of  buffalo-meat,  and 
just  at  dark  I  crowded  down  a  little  supper;  but, 
thougli  I  was  faint  and  weary,  my  emotions  and 
melancholy  reflections  deprived  me  of  appetite.  For- 
tunately, I  picked  up  my  rifle  and  started  off  for  a 
little  hill,  where  I  could  see  down  the  Little  Red  river, 
and  there  appeared  the  smoke  of  various  camp-fires, 
some  three  or  four  miles  off.  I  returned,  and,  saddling 
■up,  mounted  and  rode  for  the  fires,  for  I  knew  they 
were  the  fires  of  the  Comanches.  After  traveling  two 
miles,  I  came  into  a  great  drove  of  horses  and  mules, 
feeding,  and  rode  a  mile  or  two  further,  through 
animals  thickly  scattered  over  the  plain,  till  I  came 
to  the  first  lodges  of  the  Comanche  camp. 

Here  I  gave  a  regular  Comanche  war-whoop,  and  the 


104  EECEPTIOlSr   BY   COMAXCHES. 

Ip.dians,  jumping  up,  wanted  to  know  who  it  was.  I 
answered  that  it  was  their  friend  Hobbs.  An  Indian 
ran  out,  shook  hands  with  me,  and,  when  I  asked 
where  "Wolf's"  lodge  was,  he  said  about  the  center 
of  the  camp,  half  a  mile  below,  and  he  went  with  me 
to  show  the  way.  Another  Indian  tore  oif  at  full 
speed,  to  announce  to  "Wolf"  and  my  wife  that 
I  had  arrived.  As  we  went  along  through  the  lodges, 
the  crowd  around  me  increased,  and  they  made  such  a 
noise  that  the  whole  camp  seemed  aroused.  They  re- 
marked that  I  was  a  true  friend  to  them  now,  or  I 
never  would  have  returned  to  them. 

AVhen  I  reached  "  Wolf's  "  tent,  he  and  Henry  and 
my  wife  and  child  were  outside,  waiting  to  receive  me. 
I  was  pulled  oif  my  mule,  and  nearly  squeezed  to 
death  with  joyful  embraces.  They  then  unpacked 
and  unsaddled  my  animals,  and  took  care  of  them.  I 
commenced  taking  out  my  presents  for  my  wife  and 
child,  and  took  out  one  of  the  bottles  of  whisky  which 
I  had  brought  for  "  AVolf 's  "  special  benefit.  He  said 
he  was  n't  afraid  to  drink  that,  as  he  was  the  first  we 
had  given  him  years  before.  Among  the  presents 
which  I  gave  "Wolf"  were  a  nice  butcher-knife  and 
a  beautiful  tomahawk  which  had  a  hollow  handle, 
a  pipe  on  the  back  and  a  mouth-piece  to  screw  on  the 
handle ;  also,  a  quantity  of  tobacco,  lots  of  red  flannel, 
calicoes,  beads,  trinkets,  &c.  The  beads  and  the  flannel 
T  told  him  to  give  his  wife,  my  mother-in-law. 

Then  I  got  out  the  presents  for  my  wife  and  child, 
which  were  numerous  and  valuable,  consisting  of 
shawls  and  dress-patterns,  ribbons,  beads,  mirrors, 
knives  and  forks,  thread,  &c.,  the  whole  filling  one 
of  the  pack-saddles,  and  enough  to  last  her  for  years. 
I  knew  she  appreciated  the  liberal  gifts,  though  she 


AT   HOME.  105 

said  but  little.  Occasionally,  as  she  looked  at  me  and 
then  at  the  presents,  her  eyes  would  fill  with  t(?ars, 
and,  if  she  spoke,  her  voice  would  tremble  and  indicate 
her  deepest  gratitude.  I  could  see  that  she  had  almost 
despaired  of  my  ever  returning  to  her,  fearing  that 
I  had  been  killed  in  some  of  my  expeditions.  My 
return  was  a  joyful  surprise  to  them  all. 

"Wolf"  called  me  to  come  and  sit  down  by  him. 
He  commenced  crying,  and  told  me  about  the  death  of 
his  son,  my  brother,  as  he  called  him.  But  he  said  he 
was  satisfied  that  the  sun,  his  god,  had  taken  him  up, 
and  he  would  be  back  some  day.  He  said  he  had 
another  brave  son  in  his  jjlace,  who  was  fast  learning 
to  be  a  brave  chief.  He  said  Henry  had  told  him  that 
he  had  seen  me  down  in  IMexico,  with  a  large  lot 
of  wagons  and  teams.  Henry  stood  by,  listening,  and 
appeared  desirous  to  hear  me  converse  with  the  old 
chief;  for  he,  as  well  as  many  other  of  the  principal 
warriors,  appeared  to  think  as  much  of  me  as  though  I 
was  in  reality  in  command  of  their  tribe.  His  little 
brother  Jim  came  around  to  see  me.  He  had  even  for- 
gotten the  "yes"  and  "no"  which  was  all  the 
English  he  could  speak  when  I  left  the  Comanches. 
My  little  boy  was  about  seven  years  old,  and  as  wild 
as  a  deer,  and  it  was  a  good  while  before  I,  assisted  by 
his  mother's  talking  to  him,  could  get  him  to  come 
to  me. 

My  wife  told  me  she  had  a  lodge  of  her  own  we 
could  go  to,  though,  since  I  had  left,  she  had  stayed 
all  the  time  with  her  father  and  mother.  We  moved 
into  our  lodge  about  12  o'clock  that  night,  and  I 
rested,  for  the  first  time  in  four  years,  after  every 
manner  of  privation  and  hardship,  in  the  bosom  of  my 
family,  without  any  fear  of  wolves,  robbers,  or  Indians. 


106  CHEYENNE   CHIEF   ON   A   STEAMBOAT. 

The  next  day,  "  Old  Wolf"  had  a  long  tale  to  tell 
me  about  his  particular  friend,  tlie  Cheyenne  chief, 
being  taken  by  Bent  to  Independence,  Mo.,  and  to  St. 
Louis  and  New  Orleans,  whence  he  had  brought  pres- 
ents of  all  kinds,  some  of  which  he  had  given  to 
"Wolf."  The  accounts  given  "Old  Wolf"  by  his 
friend,  of  the  treatment  he  had  received  at  the  different 
places  he  had  visited,  gave  him  a  very  liigli  opinion  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  —  much  different  from 
that  they  had  of  the  Texans.  Probably  one  great 
reason  of  the  tribe's  dislike  to  Texans  was  the  fact 
that  they  had  given  them  their  first  lesson  in  the  power 
of  revolvers.  "Old  Wolf"  laughed  heartily  when 
he  related  the  experience  of  the  Cheyenne  chief,  when 
he  first  went  on  board  a  steamboat  at  Independence. 
He  was  leaning  over  the  side  of  the  boat,  when  the 
engineer  blew  off  steam  on  that  side,  and  the  fright- 
ened Indian  jumped  into  the  river.  He  swam  out,  and 
dry  clothes  were  put  on  him  ;  but  it  was  some  time  be- 
fore they  could  get  him  on  the  boat  again,  for  he 
declared  it  was  the  devil.  "Old  Wolf"  told  him  he 
was  foolish  to  get  scared  at  a  thing  before  he  knew 
what  it  was;  but  he  thought  if  "  Wolf"  had  been 
with  him  on  the  boat,  he  would  have  jumped  too. 

"Wolf"  wanted  to  know  if  I  had  seen  "Little- 
hearted  John,"  as  he  called  him.  I  told  him  where 
I  had  seen  him,  and  he  said  he  had  also  seen  him  once 
since  he  sold  him. 

Bent's  kindness  to  the  Cheyenne  chief  was  part 
of  his  policy,  by  which  he  shipped  thirty  or  forty 
thousand  dollars'  worth  of  furs  every  fall  to  St.  Louis 
or  Independence. 

It  pleased  "Wolf"  and  my  wife  that  I  had  taken 
care  of  the  mules  and  horse  they  had  given  me.     The 


PREPARE  TO   RETURN   TO   MEXICO.  107 

second  day  after  my  arrival,  the  old  clii(?f  said  his 
whisky  was  gone,  and  he  would  like  to  have  another 
drink.  I  told  my  wife,  who  had  taken  it  in  charge,  to 
hand  him  out  the  other  bottle,  informing  him  that 
it  was  all  I  had  brought. 

I  stayed  in  camp,  hunting  buffalo  and  amusing  my- 
self with  tlie  Indians,  for  about  a  month,  when,  much 
to  their  surjirise,  I  informed  my  wife  and  father-in-law 
that  I  was  going  to  Mexico  again.  When  I  told  them, 
as  a  reason  for  my  going,  that  I  had  left  money  there, 
and  Avas  going  to  return  for  it,  they  could  not  under- 
stand why  I  need  go  on  that  account.  "  Old  Wolf 
asked  what  need  I  had  for  money ;  had  n't  he  every 
thing  we  needed?  I  explained  to  him  that,  among 
the  whites,  ])urchases  were  made  with  money  instead 
of  skins  and  furs,  and  therefore  it  was  very  useful 
to  me. 

I  then  told  my  wife  that  I  had  left  orders  at  Bent's 
Fort,  so  that,  at  any  time  her  father  went  there  to  trade, 
he  could  get  all  the  clothes  and  other  articles  for  her 
and  the  child  that  she  needed. 

"Wolf"  said,  if  I  must  go,  he  would  send  out  and 
prepare  some  nice  buffalo-meat  for  me  to  take  with  me. 
This  was  soon  done.  They  prepared  some  buffalo- 
tongues  and  fleeces  or  large  flakes  cut  from  the  back 
and  sides  of  the  buffalo,  well  salted  and  cured  over  the 
fire,  and  also  some  dried  venison-hams.  "Wolf" 
then  inquired  which  route  I  wanted  to  take,  and  I 
replied  the  straightest  to  New  Mexico,  which  would  bt* 
by  way  of  Cimarron  creek.  After  looking  at  my  two 
mules,  he  said  they  were  weak  and  poor,  and  advised 
me  to  take  some  better  ones,  for  I  could  have  all 
the  animals  I  wanted.  I  picked  out  six  fine  riding 
and  packing  Texan  mules  and  another  fine  saddle- 


108  PARTING   WITH   COMANCHES. 

liorse,  besides  taking  the  bay  Limber  Bill,  given  me 
by  my  wife  when  I  left  them  the  first  time. 

I  bade  them  all  good-bye,  parting  sadly  and  reluct- 
antly from  the  lovely  and  affectionate  "  Spotted 
Fawn,"  who  hung  upon  my  neck,  and  almost  refused 
to  let  me  go.  This  daughter  of  "Wolf"  was  far 
above  the  average  of  Indian  women  in  looks  and  intel- 
ligence, and  was  nearly  white.  Her  amiable  ways, 
during  the  years  of  my  pleasant  sojourn  among  her 
people,  had  so  endeared  her  to  me,  that  I  could  not 
leave  on  this  occasion  without  promising  her  that  I 
would  return  again  soon  to  stay  permanently.  How 
well  I  kept  that  promise,  the  reader  will  see  hereafter. 
My  little  boy,  Jimmy,  though  wild  and  afraid  of  me 
a  few  weeks  before,  now  came  up  to  say  good-bye 
to  me  and  give  me  a  parting  kiss.  The  old  men  and 
young  warriors  of  the  camp  also  gathered  around 
to  say  farewell  and  wish  me  good-luck.  Mounting  my 
horse,  and  waving  a  final  adieu,  I  started  off,  escorted 
by  Henry  Brown,  the  assistant  chief,  and  twenty-four 
warriors,  who  were  detailed  to  take  me  to  where  there 
would  be  no  danger  from  any  unfriendly  Indians. 
"  Wolf"  du-ected  the  escort  to  see  me  safely  into  the 
Mexican  settlements,  and  for  that  purpose  they  carried 
plenty  of  provisions. 

On  the  fifth  day  after  leaving  "Wolf's"  camp,  we 
struck  the  main  Santa  Fe  road  from  Independence, 
about  ten  miles  above  the  bone-yard  where  Mr.  Spey- 
ers's  mules  were  frozen  to  death.  Here  we  came  upon 
a  train  of  eight  w^agons,  eight  mules  to  each,  with  the 
necessary  number  of  teamsters,  &c.,  who  had  halted 
here  to  recruit  their  mules.  As  soon  as  they  saw  us, 
they  prepared  for  a  fight,  part  of  the  men  starting  for 
their  animals.     When  I  saw  they  considered  us  a  hos- 


MEETING   OLD   FRIENDS.  109 

tile  party,  I  lialted  my  escort  and  rode  forward  to 
re-assure  them.  I  told  them  they  need  have  no  fears, 
as  the  Indians  were  friendly  and  under  my  command. 
On  inquiring  for  the  leader  of  the  party,  I  was  intro- 
duced to  Mr.  Calvin  McCoy,  from  Westport,  Mo. 
I  now  signalled  to  Henry,  who  came  up  with  the  war- 
riors, and,  hy  my  direction,  proceeded  to  stakti  out 
their  animals  to  feed,  and  make  a  camp  near  our 
friends. 

In  this  train  I  found  an  old  acquaintance  named 
James  Prewitt,  who  was  moving  his  family,  who  occu- 
pied one  of  the  wagons  of  the  train,  from  IMissouri  to 
New  Mexico.  His  wife  was  a  Spanish  woman,  and 
they,  with  their  children,  had  been  several  w(M:^ks  on 
the  road  from  Westport,  Mo.  Seeing  her  afraid  of  the 
Indians,  I  spoke  to  her  in  Spanish  to  have  no  fear 
of  us.  She  was  surprised,  and  inquired  where  I 
learned  Spanish.  I  told  her  in  Santa  Fe  and  the 
lower  part  of  Mexico,  when  she  informed  me  that 
Santa  Fe  was  her  native  place,  and  that  she  was  a 
relative  of  Governor  Armijo. 

I  asked  McCoy  if  he  had  met  Bent's  fur-train  going 
east,  under  escort  of  a  party  of  Shawnees.  He  replied 
that  they  did  meet  them,  at  Walnut  creek,  and,  to  get 
feed,  laid  by  with  them  one  day.  Said  he,  "•  I  suppose 
you  are  the  man  Hobbs  they  told  us  had  left  them  at  the 
crossing  of  the  Big  Arkansas  to  go  to  the  Comanches." 
I  told  him  I  was  the  man,  when  he  inform(>d  me  he  was 
well  acquainted  with  my  father's  family,  and  that  they 
considered  me  dead,  until  Mr.  Pre\\'itt  told  tin  in  he 
had  met  nuMU  Santa  Fe,  and  that  I  had  been  ransomed 
from  tlie  Indians.  On  inquiring  about  my  father  and 
other  friends,  I  learned  they  were  all  doing  well,  and 
were  much  surprised  and  pleased  to  hear  of  my  being 


110  RETURN    OF   MY   ESCORT. 

alive  and  well,  after  liaving  given  me  up  as  lost  for  so 
long  a  time. 

We  liad  a  hearty  supper,  and  spent  most  of  the 
night  talking  of  old  friends.  I  called  in  Henry,  and 
told  the  strangers  that  this  was  an  American  boy,  but 
he  had  become  a  principal  man  and  chief  among  the 
Comanches.  McCoy  asked  him  if  he  would  prefer  to 
live  with  the  Americans  hereafter.  He  said  no;  he 
would  rather  be  with  the  Indians. 

The  next  morning,  I  told  Henry  that  he  and  his 
Indians  might  go  back,  and  they  could  tell  "Wolf" 
that  I  had  met  friends  to  go  into  Santa  Fe  with,  and  I 
was  perfectly  safe.  Then  procuring  a  bottle  of  whisky 
of  Mr.  Prewitt,  which  I  sent  to  my  old  friend  "Wolf," 
I  thanked  Henry  and  his  party  for  their  great  kindness 
in  escorting  me  thus  far  on  my  journey,  and  bade 
them  good-bye. 

Mr.  McCoy  agreed  to  haul  my  provisions  and  pack- 
saddles  into  Santa  Fe,  and  give  me  a  hundred  dollars 
apiece  for  my  mules  on  arrival  there.  With  the  aid 
of  my  strong  mules,  our  train  reached  the  first  Mexi- 
can settlement  in  seven  days.  There  I  left  Mr.  McCoy, 
took  my  two  horses,  and  went  on  through  the  Mexican 
settlements  to  Santa  Fe.  McCoy  bought  corn,  recruited 
his  animals,  and  got  into  Santa  Fe  fifteen  days  after 
my  arrival  there.  He  sold  part  of  his  goods,  and  paid 
me  six  hundred  dollars  for  my  six  mules.  I  visited 
Governor  Armijo,  and  introduced  McCoy  to  him ;  his 
acquaintance  proving  very  useful  in  getting  the  goods 
through  the  custom-house. 

By  my  advice,  McCoy  left  Santa  Fe,  as  the  market 
for  such  goods  as  he  had  was  easily  glutted,  it  being  a 
small  place  of  not  over  eight  thousand  inhabitants.  I 
told  him  that  Chihuahua  was  a  city  of  over  thirty 


ESCAPE   OF   APACHE   SQUAWS.  Ill 

thousand  people,  and  he  requested  me  to  go  tliere  with 
him  and  sliow  liim  the  way.  As  he  was  short  of 
means,  and  would  have  to  feed  all  the  way  down,  I 
drew  money  I  had  on  dex")Osit  at  Scully's  (a  large  mer- 
cantile house),  and  loaned  it  to  him.  to  be  repaid  when 
we  reached  Chihuahua.  We  arrived  there  in  tw^enty- 
four  days  from  the  time  we  left  Santa  Fe.  Tliere  I. 
met  my  friends,  James  Kirker,  John  Spencer,  Gabe 
Allen,  and  others,  who  were  on  the  expedition  against 
the  Apaches.  They  were  all  "dead  broke."  Kirker 
said  if  he  had  done  as  Spiebuck  and  I  had  advised,  he 
would  have  made  much  more  money.  In  answer  to 
my  inquiries,  I  found  that  he  had  succeeded  in  getting 
enough  money  from  the  governor,  on  account  of  the 
scalps,  to  barely  live,  and  that,  shortly  after  we  left 
Chihuahua,  the  Mexicans  took  all  the  animals  recov- 
ered from  the  Apaches,  besides  stealing  all  their  own 
riding-mules. 

I  told  him  how  Spiebuck  and  his  men  sold  all  their 
mules  to  Bent  and  took  their  horses  to  Missouri,  while 
I  had  sold  my  mules  at  Santa  Fe  ;  and  we  had  all  got 
good  prices,  and  got  the  cash,  which  was  better  than  to 
have  stayed  in  Chihuahua  and  lost  them. 

He  went  on  to  tell  us  how  the  Ajiache  girls  we 
brought  in  as  prisoners  had  all  run  off,  after  being  dis- 
tributed as  servants  among  the  rich  people  by  the 
governor.  Dr.  Duvas,  who  married  a  sister  of  the 
governor,  was  persuaded  by  him  to  take  one  of  the 
squaws  into  his  family  as  a  nurse,  and  one  day,  when 
Mrs.  Duvas  went  across  the  street,  leaving  her  infant 
of  a  year  old  in  the  arms  of  this  nurse,  she  took  the 
child  by  the  heels,  smashed  its  brains  out  against  the 
door-jamb,  and  then  escaped,  and  was  never  caught. 

Kirker  further  said,  that,  since  our  raid,  the  Apaches 


112  AS   A   FREIGHTER. 

Lad  been  killing  people  all  around  Cliiliuahua,  and 
had  even  ventured  into  tlie  city,  murdering  citizens  in 
the  suburbs.  The  governor  had  called  on  him  and  the 
Americans  there  for  help ;  but  their  reply  was  that 
there  was  an  old  contract  unfulfilled,  and  they  declined 
to  furnish  aid  till  that  was  settled. 

Being  now  out  of  business,  and  meeting  an  agent  of 
an  English  manufacturing  company,  located  in  Zaca- 
tecas,  who  was  looking  for  some  one  to  take  cotton 
from  Chihualiua  to  their  factory,  I  determined  to  try 
my  luck  as  a  freighter.     For  this  purpose,  I  bought  of 
Mr.  McCoy  four  wagons  and  thirty-two  mules,  and 
hired  a  number  of  our  old  Apache  hunting-party  as 
teamsters  and  guard.     As  the  country  through  which 
we  were  to  travel  was  infested  by  various  hostile  tribes 
of  Indians,  I  joined  my  force  with  those  of  ttee  other 
freighters,  named  Henry  Cappilard,  Robert  Carlisle, 
and  Samuel  Miller.     Cappilard  was  a  Frenchman,  and 
the  other  two  Missourians.     Our  party  were  all  well- 
armed,  and  in  due  time  we  started  our  train  for  tlie 
south. 

The  fifth  day  after  leaving,  we  were  surprised  by 
about  fifty  Apaches.  We  were  traveling  through  a 
thick  brush,  or  thicket,  when  they  jumped  suddenly 
out  upon  us,  and  killed  a  teamster  named  Harvey 
Gleaves  and  six  of  our  mules,  and  wounded  Mr. 
Cappilard  in  the  head,  the  bullet  glancing  upward 
from  his  forehead.  By  this  time,  we  had  all  got  ready 
for  action,  and  poured  into  the  savages  a  well-directed 
succession  of  shots,  which  caused  them  to  flee,  with 
the  loss  of  several  killed  and  wounded,  which  they 
carried  otf  the  field  with  them. 

Unharnessing  our  dead  mules,  and  putting  our  dead 
teamster  in  a  wagon,  we  continued  our  march.     On  ar- 


WAll    WITH   THE   UNITED   STATES.  113 

riving  at  El  y  St.  Bartolo,  twenty  miles  furtlier  on,  we 
laid  over  a  day,  and  buried  our  friend  Gleaves.  Next 
day  we  bought  six  mules,  and  resumed  our  journey, 
meeting  with  no  unusual  adventures  till  we  reached 
our  destination. 

After  unloading  my  freight,  I  went  toward  the  south- 
ern i)art  of  Mexico,  my  destination  being  San  Luis 
Potosi.  There  we  loaded  with  blankets,  sugar,  and 
other  groceries,  —  about  one-half  of  which  was  freight 
and  the  other  my  own  venture,  —  and  returned  to  Chi- 
huahua, where  I  sold  out  every  thing  I  had  bought  at 
a  hundred  per  cent,  profit.  I  continued  in  that  busi- 
ness, makbig  three  or  four  trips,  until  the  year  1846,  at 
which  time  I  had  enough  money  to  purchase  ten 
wagons  and  teams,  and  was  making  trips  with  my  own 
train,  doing  business  on  my  own  account  and  hiring  all 
my  help. 

In  the  midst  of  my  success,  when  I  fancied  that  I 
was  on  the  road  to  .a  fortune,  hostilities  commenced  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Mexico.  In  February, 
1847,  the  Mexican  authorities  seized  my  wagons,  teams, 
and  all  th(^  property  I  possessed,  impressing  it  for  the 
use  of  their  army.  AVar  had  been  declared  in  1846, 
but  only  vague  and  unreliable  rumors  had  reached  us 
in  that  far-ofif  region  of  Central  Mexico.  We  had 
heard  a  good  deal  of  talk  about  the  disputed  boundary 
between  Mexico  and  Texas,  and  the  $18,000,000  debt 
due  from  Mexico  to  the  United  States,  which  :Mexico 
refused  to  pay,  and  it  was  manifest  that  war,  at  no 
distant  day,  was  probable.  I,  with  others,  continued 
trading,  however,  l)ecause  we  were  acting  under  a 
treaty  of  commerce  between  Mexico  and  the  United 
States,  which  gave  us  the  right  to  trade  in  that  country 
freely ;  and  we  knew  that  our  government,  in  any 
8 


114  GOODS   IMPRESSED, 

eveut,  possessed  the  power  and  the  willingness  to  pro- 
tect our  property.  We  could  take  care  of  our  interests 
better  by  remaining,  as  any  attempt  to  get  out  of  the 
country  would  be  destructive  to  our  interests  as  traders, 
and  I  had  considerable  property  to  risk.  Of  course, 
our  lives  were  in  danger,  but  we  took  all  such  chances, 
relying  on  our  wits  and  courage  to  caiTy  us  through. 
Many  other  American  traders  came  to  the  same  de- 
cision, and,  by  remaining  too  long  in  Mexico,  lost  all 
their  property  after  the  war  commenced. 

The  first  official  report  that  United  States  troops  had 
crossed  the  Rio  Grande  gave  us  much  alarm.  I  was 
at  San  Luis  Potosi  when  I  heard  that  Santa  Anna  was 
marching,  with  fourteen  thousand  troops,  to  meet 
General  Taylor  at  Buena  Yista,  and  was  levjing  indis- 
criminately on  the  property  of  Americans  and  Mexi- 
cans. I  was  loading  up  my  teams  and  settling  up  ni}^ 
business,  which  would  require  about  ten  days,  and  I 
made  all  haste  to  get  out  of  his  way.  • 

I  had  got  on  all  my  goods,  passed  the  custom-house 
officers,  and  was  hurrying  out  of  the  city,  when  I  saw 
coming  up  behind  me  about  fifty  mounted  Mexican 
lancers  on  a  full  gallop.  I  knew  at  once  their  busi- 
ness. When  they  came  up,  I  was  ordered  to  return  by 
the  officer  in  command  of  this  advance-guard  of  Santa 
Anna' s  army.  He  said  his  orders  were  to  impress  all 
the  property  and  stores  that  he  could  find  for  the  use 
of  the  Mexican  army.  I  had  to  return  with  them ! 
Now  all  my  hopes  of  trading  and  becoming  wealthy  in 
that  line  of  business  were  l)lasted. 

I  demanded  of  the  officer  who  took  charge  of  my 
property  something  to  show  as  a  voucher  for  what  he 
had  taken  from  me.  He  said  he  had  no  authority  to 
give  me  a  receipt ;  but  I  could  see  General  Santa  Anna, 


DECLINE  TO   JOIN   THE   MEXICAN   ARMY.  115 

who  would  be  along  in  a  day  or  two,  and  lie  would 
doubtless  give  me  one. 

The  next  day,  Santa  Anna,  at  the  head  of  his  army, 
marched  into  the  city,  on  his  way  to  Buena  Vista, 
which  was  about  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles 
from  San  Luis  Potosi.  It  was  two  days  before  I  could 
get  an  interview  with  Santa  Anna.  When  I  did  gain 
an  audience  with  him,  he  inquired  my  business,  and  T 
told  him  I  desired  some  document  to  show  that  he  had 
taken  my  property  from  me.  He  thought  there  was 
no  necessity  for  it,  as  he  was  going  downi  to  give  the 
Americans  a  thrashing,  and  wanted  me  to  go  along 
with  him  and  haul  some  artillery.  He  offered  to  pay 
me  and  give  me  back  my  teams,  if  he  was  successful. 
I  had  less  confidence  in  his  whipping  the  Yankees 
than  he  had ;  at  all  events,  I  did  not  feel  willing  to 
help  liim  fight  against  the  flag  of  my  country,  nor  to 
stand  up  to  be  shot  at  by  American  infantry  and  artil- 
lerymen. So  I  refused  to  go,  after  politely  telling  him 
that  I  was  a  Missourian  by  birth  and  could  not  consci- 
entiously go  against  my  nation.  He  said  he  thought  I 
would  ho  safer  with  him  than  anywhere  else,  for  in  a 
short  tinu?  he  should  issue  an  order  that  any  American 
found  in  the  country,  after  twenty-five  days,  should  be 
shot.  I  insisted  on  a  receipt  for  thc^  goods  seized,  and 
told  him  how  many  Mexicans  I  had  rescued  from 
Indian  tribes,  where  they  were  held  as  captives,  and 
stated  the  part  I  took  in  the  expedition  against  the 
Apaches,  and  the  shabby  treatment  I  had  received 
from  the  governor  of  Chihuahua.  He  finally  promised 
to  give  me  the  receipt,  saying  he  had  heard  of  me 
before,  and  gave  the  urgent  necessities  of  his  poorly 
supplied  army  as  the  only  excuse  he  had  for  holding 
m}'^  property.     He  directed  me  to  make  out  a  written 


116  DISC4UISE   AS   A   MEXICAl^J". 

statement  of  all  my  effects  that  had  been  seized,  which 
I  did,  as  follows:  eighty  mules,  with  ten  wagons 
loaded  with  leather  of  various  kinds,  blankets,  saddle- 
trees, sugar,  coffee,  rice,  and  otiier  groceries,  giving 
the  items  in  detail.  He  said,  before  he  could  give  a 
receipt,  he  must  see  the  officer  who  made  the  seizure, 
and  have  the  account  verified,  which  was  done  at  once. 
I  asked  the  general  if  he  would  n't  be  good  enough  to 
leave  me  my  goods,  even  if  he  took  the  mules  and 
wagons ;  but  he  objected,  on  account  of  his  troops 
being  short  of  provisions.  I  took  my  receipt  from  the 
general,  and  bade  him  good-bj^e. 

I  now  had  notliing  left  out  of  twenty  thousand 
dollars'  worth  of  property,  except  my  horse  and 
saddle  and  five  hundred  dollars  in  money,  which  I 
had  saved  to  pay  expenses  on  our  way  back  to  Chi- 
huahua. I  called  up  my  teamsters,  after  I  got  back  to 
the  hotel,  and  paid  them  what  I  owed  them.  These 
teamsters  were  all  Mexicans,  and  I  had  been  stripped 
of  nearly  all  I  had  by  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
Mexican  army ;  but,  so  long  as  I  had  enough  to  pay 
them  the  wages  due,  I  felt  bound  to  do  so.  I  told  them 
I  was  a  ruined  man,  and  could  not  take  them  back  to 
Chihuahua,  as  agreed;  but  if  they  wished  to  return 
north,  they  could  probably  do  so  under  the  army 
wagon-masters,  as  drivers  of  the  same  wagons,  which 
I  believe  they  did. 

I  had  only  one  hundred  dollars  left,  after  paying  the 
teamsters.  I  then  went  to  a  Mexican  store,  and  bought 
me  a  large  wide-brimmed  straw-hat,  with  rolls  of  cotton 
covered  with  silver  lace  wound  around  it,  and  a  regular 
Mexican  "Greaser"  costume,  being  buckskin  over 
riding-pants,  white  drawers  and  buckskin  leggings, 
a    buckskin    roundabout,   and    shoes   with    Mexican 


AMERICAXS   OKDERED   TO   LEAVK   MEXICO.         117 

spurs.  Tlie  over  riding-pants  are  made  to  button 
up  on  the  outside  of  the  leg,  instead  of  with  a  seam, 
so  tliat  hi  riding  they  can  be  opened  to  relieve -the 
knees. 

This  cliange  of  dress  was  all  that  saved  me.  I  spoke 
Spanish  liucntly,  as  well  as  any  of  the  natives  and 
better  than  the  common  classes.  I  had  been  smoked 
yellow  in  the  wigwams  of  the  Comanches,  tanninl  hy 
my  out-door  life  and  exposure  since,  and  I  could  not 
now  be  told,  with  my  new  rig  on,  from  a  native  Mexi- 
can. I  saddled  my  horse,  and  started  for  Zacatecas. 
This  was  one  hundrc^d  and  fifty  miles  distant.  On  my 
arrival,  I  met  some  of  my  friends, — Mr.  Kirldbrd,  Dr. 
Jenkins,  and  Humphrey  Gentry  ;  the  latter  an  Ameri- 
can and  the  first  two  Englishmen.  They  informed  me 
that  Colonel  Doniplian's  regiment  was  expected  to 
arrive  soon  at  Santa  Fe.  I  informed  them  of  my  bad 
luck  at  San  Luis  Potosi,  at  which  the}'  expressed  much 
sympathy,  and  offered  me  the  loan  of  any  money 
I  needed. 

The  next  day,  the  order  of  Santa  Anna  was  issued 
in  Zacatecas,  that  every  American  who  was  not  out  of 
the  country  mthin  twenty-five  days  should  be  shot. 
Then  I  went  to  Mr.  Gentry,  and  asked  him  what  he 
thought  of  doing.  He  replied  that  he  would  be  pro- 
tected with  the  English  in  the  mint  at  Zacatecas.  I 
then  called  on  Dr.  Jenkins  for  fifty  dollars,  wliich  was 
handed  over  to  me  at  once.  He  inquired  what  I 
thought  of  doing,  and  I  told  him  I  was  going  to  the 
city  of  Durango.  He  said  he  could  give  me  some 
useful  lettx^rs  to  some  English  friends  of  his  working 
thert>  at  the  iron- works.  I  a('ce])ted  one  letter,  and 
immediately  started  for  Durango,  arriving  there  in  a 
week-     Proceeding  directly  to  the  iron-works,  I  pre- 


118  FRIENDS   IN   TROUBLE. 

sented  my  letter  to  the  principal  man,  Solomon  Houck, 
from  Booneville,  Mo.     He  said  lie  was  sorry  to  hear  of 
my  bad  luck,  and  tliat  I  could  stay  there  as  long  as  I 
wished,  and  he  would  give  me  a  good  berth  to  oversee 
a  party  of  Mexicans,  who  were  working  in  the  minerals 
for  him.     He  also  informed  me  that  some  of  our  friends 
had  been  put  in  prison  the  day  before  by  the  Mexicans. 
I  asked  who  they  were,  and  he  stated  that  they  were 
two  brotliers,  James  and  Samuel  McGuffin,  from  Ken- 
tucky, and  Samuel  Wetherhead,  a  friend  of  Mr.  Houck, 
from  Booneville,  Mo.,  and  a  Scotch  tailor  named  Joseph 
White.     These  men  I  had  known  for  some  time,  and 
felt  a  strong  desire  to  help  them,  wlien  I  heard  of  their 
misfortune,  and  so  informed  Mr.  Houck.     They  were 
all  wealthy  men.     The  twenty-five  days  were  about 
elapsing,  and  the  Mexicans  were  in  haste  to  get  hold 
of  their  property.     They  fined  these  four  men  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars,  and  gave  tliem  twenty -five  days 
more  to  leave  the  country.     They  dared  not  start  with 
any  means,  for  that  would  insure  their  robbery  and 
murder  on  the  road. 

About  this  time,  news  came  that  Colonel  Doniphan* s 
famous  regiment,  with  over  eight  hundred  men,  besides 
a  park  of  artillery,  was  on  the  march  from  Santa  Fe  to 
Chihuahua,  and  also  that  our  old  friend  Bent,  of  Bent's 
Fort,  was  acting-governor  of  New  Mexico,  with  a  force 
of  four  hundred  men.  Governor  Armijo  had  not 
stopped  for  an  interview  with  Doniphan,  but  had 
cleared  out  of  Santa  Fe  in  haste. 

Mr.  Houck  liad  a  Mexican  servant-girl,  in  whom  he 
placed  all  confidence,  who  used  to  carry  the  provisions 
to  prison  for  these  four  men,  by  consent  of  the  jailor. 
The  provisions  were  examined  every  time  she  passed 
the  jailor.     Mr.  Houck  wrote  a  note  to  the  men,  and 


START    von   COLONEL    DOXirilAX.  119 

inclosed  it  in  a  loaf  of  bread,  also  a  small  inkstand, 
pen,  sheet  of  paper,  &c.  The  letter  informed  tliem 
that  Colonel  Doniphan  had  taken  Santa  Fe  and  was 
marching  into  Mexico,  and  there  were  hopes  for  them. 
They  found  the  writing  materials,  and  rei)lied  that 
Donii)han  was  a  personal  friend  of  the  brothers 
Mc(Juffin,  and  they  thought,  if  they  could  get  word 
to  him  of  the  danger  they  were  in,  he  would  make  a 
strong  etlbrt  to  save  them,  as  they  believed  the  Mexi- 
cans int^jnded  to  secure  their  property  and  then  kill 
them.  They  wished  him,  if  possible,  to  j^rocure  a 
messenger  to  take  a  letter  from  them  to  Colonel  Doni- 
phan, and  send  them  paper  to  write  it  on. 

Ilouck  succeeded  in  getting  more  paper  to  them,  and 
a  note,  in  which  he  informed  them  that  I  was  stopping 
with  liim,  and  had  volunteered  to  take  a  letter  from 
them  to  Colonel  Doniphan,  notwithstanding  I  well 
knew  the  risk  I  ran,  and  that,  from  what  he  knew 
of  me,  he  believed  I  could  get  safely  tlu-ougli  with  it. 
This  encouraged  them ;  they  wrote  the  letter  and  sent 
it  past  the  guard,  by  the  Mexican  girl,  to  us.  I  took 
the  letter,  rolled  it  in  thin  linen  cloth  into  a  cylindrical 
shape,  then  sewed  around  it  a  piece  of  oil-cloth,  loaded 
a  double-barreled  shot-gun  with  buckshot,  and  down 
upon  one  of  these  charges  rammed  the  letter,  which 
was  made  to  fit  closely  like  a  cartridge.  If  examined 
too  closely,  I  meant,  as  if  b}^  accident,  to  shoot  the 
letti^r  away. 

I  saddled  my  horse  and  started  on  my  journey, 
which  proved  to  be  one  of  three  hundred  and  eighty 
miles  or  more,  to  the  place  where  I  met  Donii)han's 
n^giment.  I  traveled  day  and  night,  sometimes  ofl* 
and  sometimes  on  the  road,  being  well  acquainted 
with  the  country  and   the   direction.     Twice   on  the 


120  MEETING   AVITII   MEXICANS. 

road  I  was  examined  by  the  Mexican  authorities,  for 
they  kept  a  close  watch  on  all  strangers,  whether 
Mexicans  or  foreigners.  But  they  did  not  find  my 
letter.  The  weather  was  fine,  warm,  and  clear,  with 
starlight  nights,  which  was  quite  an  advantages. 

When  I  had  traveled  some  two  hundred  and  forty 
miles,  I  began  to  get  into  towTis  and  settlements  where 
I  was  well  known,  from  my  former  travels  up  and 
down.  Then  I  left  the  road,  going  through  woods  and 
mountains,  till  I  arrived  within  fifty  or  sixty  miles  of 
Chihuahua,  traveling  one  day  and  night  during  this 
time  without  eating  any  thing.  Here  I  came  in  sight 
of  a  place  called  St.  Pablo.  In  this  town  lived  a 
friend  of  mine,  named  James  Hill,  an  American,  from 
Clay  county.  Mo.  This  Vv^as  about  3  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon.  I  rode  into  a  thick  belt  of  timber,  near 
which  was  good  grass  for  my  horse,  took  off  my 
saddle,  spread  down  my  blanket,  hobbled  my  horse, 
laid  down,  and,  being  very  sleepy  as  well  as  hungry, 
fell  asleep,  while  studying  how  I  should  get  some- 
thing to  eat  without  being  seen.  I  slept  until  dark, 
and  then  got  up  and  saddled  my  horse. 

My  friend  Hill  lived  near  the  edge  of  the  town,  where 
he  had  a  grist-mill.  I  made  my  way  to  his  house, 
riding  very  slowly,  and  keeping  a  good  look-out.  On 
my  way,  I  met  several  Mexicans,  but  excited  no  sus- 
picion, for  they  took  me  for  a  Mexican.  I  had  no  fear 
of  them,  as  my  horse  had  considerable  speed,  and  I 
had  a  do^ble-barreled  gun  and  six-sliooter.  Guided 
by  th(3  dim  liglits  in  the  scattered  houses  in  tlie 
suburbs,  I  arrived  about  8  o'clock  at  Hill's  house,  dis- 
mounted, and  went  in  cautiously.  Mrs.  Hill  did  not 
recognize  me  in  my  "Greaser"  dress  until  I  made 
myself   known.     I  inquired  for  her  husband.     She 


COXCEALKU    I5Y   FRIENDS.  121 

told  me  that  sIk;  did  not  know  where  her  Imsband 
was.  He  and  another  American,  a  friend  of  liis,  from 
Chiy  county,  Mo.,  named  Milton  Favor,  had  gone  into 
the  mountains,  fearing  the  Mexicans,  who  were  very 
hostile,  woiihl  take  their  lives.  The  wives  of  both  Hill 
and  Favor  were  Mexicans.  Mrs.  Hill  told  me  I  must 
be  very  careful,  and  I  had  better  put  my  horse  in  the 
stable  b(?fore  he  was  seen,  as  a  great  many  Mexicans 
were  prowling  about  and  were  looking  for  Hill,  and 
tliat  I  had  better  hide  in  a  private  room.  I  stabled  the 
liorse,  fed  him  liay  and  grain,  and  then  went  into  a 
jjrivate  room  as  directed  by  her,  wliere  slie  brought  me 
food,  as  I  told  her  I  was  perishing  with  hunger. 

I  remained  secreted  till  midnight,  and  then  proceeded 
on  my  way,  being  furnished  by  her  with  cold  meat  and 
bread  for  my  next  meal.  Notwithstanding  her  friendly 
hospitality,  I  told  her  no  secrets,  for  my  life  depended 
on  my  extreme  caution.  Silently  I  saddled  and  rode 
away  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  feeling  much  relieved 
and  encouraged  to  think  my  mission  would  be  success- 
ful. All  the  remaining  liours  till  morning,  my  way 
was  through  the  roughest  kind  of  country^,  and  I  found 
my  horse  fast  failing,  his  feet  having  become  sore,  so 
that  it  was  with  difRculty  I  could  urge  him  out  of  a 
walk.  I  found  I  was  approaching  the  i)osition  of 
a  large  Mexican  force,  wiiich  was  station<>d  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountains  to  bar  the  progress  of  Colonel  Doni- 
plian's  regiment  toward  Cliihuahua.  T  had  gone 
around  to  th(^  right  of  Chiliuahna,  and  was  going 
Tip  the  point  of  the  mountain  between  Chihuahua  and 
Sacramento,  a  sort  of  "cow  ranche,"  fourteen  miles 
from  Cliihuahua,  and  near  the  place  where  we  had 
pr(>viously  "cached,"  or  secreted,  some  goods  we 
took  from  the  Apaches.    The  Mexicans  w^ere  intrenched 


122  A   ONE-SIDED   HORSE-TRADE. 

at  Sacramento,  and  I  could  hear  tlieir  drums  and  the 
occasional  firing  of  a  gun.  By  the  time  I  had  got 
half-way  up  the  mountain,  traveling  through  the 
scrubby  brush  away  from  the  road,  the  blood  was 
running  from  my  horse's  feet,  and  it  was  evident  that  I 
could  get  him  along  but  a  little  further.  I  watched 
the  failing  attempts  of  my  faithful  Limber  Bill,  and  re- 
solved to  abandon  him;  for,  indeed,  I  had  been 
walking  and  leading  liim  an  hour.  Fortunately  I  saw 
in  the  path  before  me  a  Mexican,  coming  toward  me, 
riding  a  horse  and  leading  a  fine  one  in  his  rear.  I 
hailed  him,  and  inquired  how  he  would  trade  horses, 
telling  him  I  would  give  him  boot-money.  He  said  he 
would  not  trade,  and  inquired  where  I  was  gomg.  I 
told  him  I  was  going  over  to  help  Governor  Trios  whip 
the  Americans  out  of  the  country.  He  asked  me 
where  I  was  from,  and  I  answered  from  Lower  Mexico. 

I  now  demanded  that  he  should  trade  horses  with 
me  anyhow,  and,  cocking  my  gun,  told  him  to  get 
down  and  change  with  me.  He  looked  at  me,  and 
asked  if  I  was  in  earnest,  when  I  replied  that  if  he 
did  n'  t  do  it  mighty  quick  I  would  convince  him.  He 
alighted,  and  I  took  hold  of  the  hair-rope  by  which  he 
led  his  animal,  while  he  took  off  my  saddle  and  bridle 
and  put  them  on  his  horse.  When  arranged  to  my 
satisfaction,  I  led  his  beast  a  few  steps  up  the  mountain 
and  sprang  into  the  saddle.  The  Mexican  gazed  at  me 
with  astonishment,  and  I  asked  him,  as  I  looked  back, 

"  Aint  you  going  to  fight  for  your  country  ? " 

"No,"  he  replied. 

I  started  off  at  a  gallop,  feeling  that  it  was  lucky 
indeed  that  the  Mexican  had  come  along,  for  I  saw  I 
had  exchanged  for  a  good  horse.  The  Mexican  felt 
that  I  had  cheated  him,  for  he  shouted  after  me  to 


SKETCH   OF  THE   MEXICAN   FORCE.  123 

return  and  pay  tlie  difference  ;   but  I  liad  only  time  to 
refer  liini  to  a  warmer  climate  for  satisfaction. 

Traveling  about  four  miles  further,  I  came  to  tlie 
brow  of  the  mountain,  where  I  had  a  good  view  of  the 
valley  below,  and  discovered,  just  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  the  Mexican  army.  I  got  off  my  horse, 
fastened  him  back  in  a  secluded  place,  and  went  for- 
ward where  I  could  see  the  whole  encampment  of  the 
Mexicans  and  judge  of  their  strength.  The  idea  sud- 
denly seized  me  to  sketch  tlieii'  position  as  well  as  I 
could  for  the  use  of  Colonel  Doniphan.  Having  some 
loose  paper  and  a  pencil  in  ni}'  wallet,  I  made  a  hasty 
drawing  of  the  whole  force.  They  were  drilling,  and 
I  judged  their  number  to  be  about  five  thousand,  be- 
sides eighteen  pieces  of  artillery ;  but  not  over  five 
hundred  were  regulars,  as  I  could  see  by  theu'  uni- 
forms. The  rest  were  raw  country  volunteers.  I  could 
see  the  red  flags  on  the  lances  some  of  them  had.  Tliey 
proved  to  be  poorly  armed,  and,  though  some  had 
lances,  many  of  them  expected  to  fight  by  throwing 
the  lasso,  the  only  mode  of  w^arfare  with  which  they 
were  acquainted. 

After  linishing  my  rough  map,  which  I  knew-  Colonel 
Doniphan  would  appreciate,  I  remounted  and  picked 
my  way  along  the  mountain,  with  a  view  of  going 
around  the  Mexican  camp,  so  as  to  avoid  being  seen 
by  them.  After  three  or  four  miles'  further  travel,  de- 
scending the  mountain  and  turning  a  point  among  the 
hills,  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  the  cheerful  sight  of 
the  star-spangled  banner  burst  on  my  vision.  It  created 
in  me  the  strongest  enthusiasm.  Tlie  reaction  in  my 
feelings  was  such  that  I  could  hardly  control  nn'self. 
The  weary  days  and  nights  of  anxiety  and  fear  were 
now  over  ;  and  there,  on  the  plain  before  me,  stood  my 


124  THE   OLD   FLAG. 

couNTRYMEX,  MY  ERiEXDS,  tlieir  bright  guns  glittering 
in  the  sunliglit,  and  their  proud  banner,  —  the  glorious 
old  Stars  and  Stripes,  —  waving  in  tlie  breeze.  It  was 
the  same  old  flag  I  had  often  gazed  at  in  admiration  as 
it  unfolded  in  the  wind  over  the  walls  of  Fort  Bent, 
when  I  was  returning  there  to  greet  my  old  trapping 
friends  after  a  long  absence.  And  farther  back,  even, 
in  my  early  childhood,  I  had  seen  it  borne  aloft  by 
some  military  company,  and  my  young  breast  heaved 
with  patriotic  emotion  when  older  persons  explained  to 
me  that  it  was  the  emblem  of  my  country's  freedom, 
and  a  guarantee  of  protection  to  its  citizens.  Ye  wlio 
have  been  brought  up  in  the  lap  of  luxury,  in  the 
midst  of  the  refinements  of  society,  who  know  nothing 
of  the  weary  tramps,  the  dangerous  expeditions,  the 
thrilling  adventures  among  savages,  the  privations,  ex- 
posures, and  hardships  which  it  had  been  my  fortune 
to  endure,  — ye  can  know  nothing  of  my  joy,  nor  can 
be  expected  to  appreciate  my  feelings,  when,  after 
losing  all  my  property  by  the  Mexicans,  I  had  now 
accomplished  an  important  mission,  which  might  result 
in  the  defeat  of  our  enemies  and  the  liberation  of  my 
friends. 


CnAPTEE  YIL 

PUTTING  spurs  to  my  horse,  I  dashed  down  to- 
wards Doniphan's  regiment,  for  I  saw  it  was 
preparing  to  move  forward,  and  I  was  anxious  to  put 
my  sketch  of  the  Mexican  position  in  his  hands  before 
he  should  become  engaged.  Tlie  mountain  was  so  steep 
in  some  places  that  my  horse  slid  on  his  haunches. 
Getting  through  the  brush  and  emerging  on  the  open 
plain,  I  approached  at  a  full  gallop,  Doniphan's  ad- 
vance guard  of  fifteen  mounted  men.  Tliey  quickly 
surrounded  me,  and  one  of  them,  nauK^l  George  Skill- 
man,  with  whom  I  was  acquainted,  having  met  liim  as 
one  of  Speyers's  teamsters,  when  I  rescued  them  from 
the  blockade  at  the  Bone  Yard,  rode  up  to  me  with 
his  gun  cocked,  asking  me  in  Spanish  who  I  was, 
where  I  came  from,  &c.  I  answered  in  Spanish,  that 
I  w^as  from  Durango,  and  bursting  into  a  laugh,  shout- 
ed out  in  English : 

"  For  heaven's  sake,  Skillman,  don't  you  know  me  ?" 
He  lowered  his  gun,  came  up  closer-,  and  recog- 
nizing me,  said  he  took  me  at  fii'st  for  a  "Greaser" 
spy.  I  inquired  for  Colonel  Donii)han,  and  they  said 
he  was  back  at  the  head  of  his  regiment.  I  informed 
Skillman  that  I  had  a  letter  for  the  colonel,  from  some 
of  his  friends  who  were  in  Durango,  in  prison,  and  I 
had  come  to  see  what  I  could  do  for  them.  He  asked 
if  I  had  come  anywhere  n<\ir  the  tmemy,  and  I  replied 
that  I  had  seen  them  all.  "But,"  said  I,  "I  have  no 
time  to  talk  ;  I  must  go  and  see  the  colonel." 


126  MEET   DOXIPIIAn's   REGIMENT. 

I  galloped  on,  to  tlie  head  of  the  regiment,  where  I 
met  Doniphan,  and  very  quickly  explained  my  busi- 
ness. Pulling  out  my  ramrod,  and  putting  the  screw 
to  it,  I  drew  forth  my  letter,  ripped  off  the  cover,  un- 
folded it,  and  handed  it  to  the  colonel.  He  asked  me 
where  I  was  from,  and  I  told  him  from  Durango. 

By  this  time,  a  large  number  of  men  had  collected 
around  us,  all  eager  to  know  who  I  was.  Samuel 
Owens  rode  up,  and  I  spoke  to  him,  calling  Imn  by 
name.  He  looked  at  me  for  some  time  before  recog- 
nizing me,  in  my  fancy  dress.     Said  he  : 

"For  Christ's  sake,  Hobbs,  is  that  you?" 

I  had  known  Owens  when  a  boy,  in  Missouri,  and 
had  met  him  several  times,  in  my  wanderings,  he  being 
the  one  who  fitted  me  out  when  I  went  to  the  relief  of 
Speyers's  train  ;  and  I  had  done  business  after  that 
with  him,  in  INIexico.  He  was  always  known  as 
Colonel  Sam  Owens,  having  received  that  title  years 
before,  in  ]\Iissouri.  He  was  not  directly  connected 
with  the  regiment,  but  was  a  merchant,  having  a  store 
at  Santa  Fe,  and  had  several  wagon  loads  of  goods 
with  the  regiment.  In  the  battle,  he  had  command  of 
a  company  formed  of  the  teamsters,  and  others,  who 
were  not  enlisted  men. 

By  this  time.  Colonel  Doniphan  had  read  McGuflin's 
letter.  He  said  he  was  sorry  for  our  friends,  but  all 
depended  on  the  battle  which  was  just  coming  off.  If 
we  gained  it,  w^e  gained  them ;  if  we  lost  it,  we  lost 
them  ;  which  was  all  he  could  say  in  their  behalf. 

Then  Colonel  Owens,  addressing  me,  said  :  "Hobbs, 
come  this  way  with  me." 

I  went  with  the  colonel  to  the  left  of  the  regiment. 
Then  he  called  my  brother  John,  and  said  to  him  : 

"Here's  your  brother  James,  that  you  considered 


PllESEXT   MY    PLAN   TO    TilK   fOLOXKL.  127 

lost  SO  long."  As  I  had  no  idea  that  my  1)i-otlicr  was 
with  the  rcgiiricnt,  and  lie  knew  notliing  ddinite  of 
me,  this  meeting,  after  a  separation  of  twelve  years, 
was  a  joyful  surprise  to  us  both.  Without  waiting 
long  for  congratulations,  we  went  tog(,'ther  to  Colonel 
Owens' s  carriage  by  the  colonel's  invitation,  when  his 
negro  servant,  Andy,  made  himself  useful  by  produ- 
cing the  colonel's  private  demijohn  of  l)iandy  and 
some  drinking  cups.  We  dismounted.  I  could  see 
that  Colonel  Owens  was  greatly  excited,  and  appeared 
to  be  in  deep  trouble.  As  we  raised  the  cups  to  our 
lips,  I  noticed  that  Colonel  Owens'  s  was  filled  to  the 
brim.  Drinking  it  off,  he  said  :  "This  may  be  our  last 
drink  together,  and  probably  is  enough  to  carry  me  to 
perdition."  I  remarked  to  him  that  we  sliould  keep 
cool,  as  w^e  were  close  to  the  enemy. 

I  excused  myself  to  Owens,  telling  him  I  had  further 
business  with  Colonel  Doniphan,  and  I  rode  back  to 
him,  and  producing  my  drawing,  told  him  I  had  a 
rough  sketch  of  the  enemy's  position,  made  an  hour 
before,  when  I  was  on  the  mountain,  where  I  had  a 
full  view  of  them,  and  their  intrenchments.  The 
colonel,  after  examining  it  careful!}',  seemed  much 
pleased,  and  said  he:  "I  see  you  have  here  the  form 
of  their  intrenchments,  and  the  position  of  their  artil- 
lery. If  I  can  rely  upon  this  as  being  correct,  we  have 
an  easy  task  before  us." 

"Colonel,"  said  I,  "to  show  you  that  I  know  what 
I  am  about,  if  you  will  look  with  your  iield-glass  at 
yonder  hillside,  as  we  get  a  little  further  on,  you  will 
see  a  twenty-four  pounder,  or  a  large  gun,  mounted  just 
above  the  brush  at  the  edge  of  the  plain,  and  manned 
by  about  a  dozen  men,  so  posted  as  to  pour  a  raking 
fire  into  you,  when  you  storm  their  intrenchments." 


128  VOLUNTEER   FOR   DUTY. 

"  Very  well,"  said  lie  ;  "I  have  need  of  the  services 
of  such  men  as  yon." 

Just  then  we  heard  some  shots  exchanged  between 
our  advanced  guard  and  the  Mexicans.  Our  force 
was  then  ordered  to  march  ;  and  they  did  march  as 
though  they  were  going  to  a  Fourth  of  July  cele- 
bration. 

Colonel  Owens  rode  up  and  asked  Doniphan  the 
time  of  day,  "and  added:  "All  I  want  is  to  get  in 
among  the  Greasers."  "Keep  very  cool,"  said  Doni- 
phan, noticing  that  Owens  was  excited  with  liquor. 

Here  two  of  the  advance  guard  came  back  and  re- 
ported that  tliey  had  killed  one  Mexican,  and  that  we 
were  close  upon  the  enemy,  for  they  were  just  over 
the  knoll,  half  a  mile  distant. 

Colonel  Doniphan  immediately  ordered  our  troops 
into  line,  and  rode  out  in  front  with  me,  when  I  showed 
him  the  position  of  the  twenty -four  pounder  gun.  He 
noticed  at  once  that  the  hillside  was  too  steep  to  enable 
them  to  turn  the  gun  to  lire  upward,  and  asked  me  if 
I  couldn't  take  some  of  my  old  mountaineer  friends, 
for  he  had  learned  that  several  in  the  regiment  knew 
me,  and  go  around  above  and  come  down  on  the  gun 
and  capture  it.  I  answered  that  I  was  at  his  service, 
and  would  do  the  best  I  could.  Although  not  an  en- 
listed man,  I  felt  like  doing  something  for  my  country 
against  the  good-for-nothing,  rotten  government  of 
Mexico.  At  this  reply  of  mine,  many  of  the  troops 
T)ecame  boisterous  in  their  applause,  and  were  anxious 
to  o'O  with  me.  He  immediately  instructed  an  officer 
to  detail  twenty -five  men,  most  of  whom  I  had  been  in 
hard  places  with  before,  and  I  started  with  them,  leav- 
ing, our  horses,  because  they  could  not  ascend  the  hill. 
When  we  had  got  in  the  rear  of  the  gun,  we  saw 


CAPTUUE   OF   A   MEXICAN   GUN.  129 

that  our  tro(>])s  were  marching  directly  up  in  front  of 
the  enemy,  ajid  tlie  Mexicans  commenced  liring.  Two 
or  tliree  cannon  balls  went  whizzing  over  the  heads  of 
our  troops  ;  at  tlie  same;  time  a  large  force  of  Mexican 
lancers  were?  making  a  circuit,  to  get  in  the  rear  of  Don- 
iphan's men.  Lieutenant  Chauteau,  who  was  one  of 
the  hunting  party  I  left  home  with  twelve  years  before, 
and  Doctor  AValdo,  ran  out  two  pieces  of  flying  artil- 
lery, and  discharging  a  few  shells  among  the  Lancers, 
they  turned  and  lied  back.  By  this  time  we  had 
crawled  down  through  the  brush  close  to  the  piece  of 
artillery,  the  attention  of  the  gunners  being  in  front. 
We  ran  for  the  gun,  shooting  one  of  the  gunners ; 
another  one  undertook  to  spike  it  with  a  rat-tail  file, 
and  he  was  shot.  Colonel  Doniphan  seeing  we  had  the 
gun,  ordered  his  men  to  charge  the  redoubts. 

Having  driven  the  Mexicans  from  their  gun,  we 
trained  it  so  as  to  get  it  in  range  of  the  enemy,  and 
finally  got  in  a  shot,  when  it  kicked  itself  off  its 
mountings,  being  terribly  overloaded,  with  all  manner 
of  deadly  missiles.  As  we  abandoned  the  gun,  and 
ran  to  tlie  assistance  of  our  comrades,  I  saw  Owens 
dash  in  front  of  his  men  up  to  the  redoubt,  killing 
three  or  four  with  his  six  shooter,  receiving  himself  a 
ball  in  his  thigh,  while  another  killed  his  horse,  and 
she  fell  witli  him.  At  the  same  time,  a  Mexican 
sprang,  out  and  run  him  through  with  a  lance.  Cap- 
tain Jackson  coming  up,  shot  the  Mexican  as  he  was 
getting  back  into  the  redoubt.  Owens  was  urged  to  be 
calm,  and  not  expose  himself  foolishly,  but  family 
trouble   made  him   desperate,  and   he  threw  his  life 

away. 

Our  men  had  now  got  possession  of  the  intrench- 
ments,  killing  a  great  number  in  their  charge,  produ- 
9 


130  SPOILS   OF   AVAR. 

cing  a  regular  stampede  of  tlie  Mexicans.  Tlie  Mexi- 
can colors  were  captured,  and  our  flag  put  in  its  place 
with  three  cheers  ;  one  old  sailor  shouting,  "Stand  by, 
boys,  she's  all  oak,  and  iron  bound." 

Lieutenant  Sproule  was  out  on  the  plain,  with  his 
cavalry,  pursuing  the  Mexicans,  and  cutting  them  to 
pieces ;  while  our  flying  artillery,  which  was  under 
the  command  of  Major  Clark,  made  great  havoc 
among  those  in  retreat. 

The  Mexicans  had  a  wagon  loaded  with  $75,000,  in 
specie,  which  they  undertook  to  save,  running  their 
mules  at  full  speed,  pricking  them  with  lances  to  urge 
them  faster,  wlien  Lieutenant  Chauteau,  of  the  artil- 
lery, thinking  something  valuable  aboard,  sent  several 
shells  after  the  wagon,  one  of  which  knocked  the  for- 
ward wheels  and  axle  loose,  and  the  wagon  fell  down, 
the  driver  also  being  killed  by  the  explosion,  and  the 
specie  fell  into  our  hands. 

The  Mexicans  saved  but  little.  Four  hundred  head 
of  cattle,  any  quantity  of  sheep,  and  fifty  cart  loads 
of  hard  bread  and  dried  meat  were  captured,  besides 
eighteen  pieces  of  artillery,  with  many  small  arms, 
and  what  ammunition  they  had,  which  was  but  little. 
There  were  four  hundred  of  them  lulled  and  wounded, 
while  our  loss  was  very  small. 

We  took  several  hundred  prisoners,  among  whom 
were  six  officers.  Encamping  on  the  ground  that 
night,  it  was  dreadful  to  hear  the  cries  of  the  Mexican 
wounded.  Our  dead  and  wounded  were  cared  for 
first.  Colonel  Owens'  s  body  was  laid  in  his  carriage, 
and  afterwards  taken  to  Chihuahua.  After  our 
wounded  were  seen  to  by  the  surgeons,  the  Mexican 
prisoners  brought  in  their  wounded  for  attention, 
many  of  them  needing  amputiitions. 


MARCH  ON  CIIIHUAirUA.  131 

Colonel  Don i  pi  1  an  issued  an  order  that  night,  that 
as  some  men  friendly  to  our  cause  were  imprisoned  in 
Durango,  and  suffering  all  manner  of  cruelty,  he 
should  shoot  tlie  six  Mexican  officers  and  as  many 
more  prisoners  as  he  thought  necessary,  if  his  friends 
were  not  released  immediately,  and  delivered,  with  all 
their  property,  to  him  at  Chihuahua.  The  prisoners 
selected  one  of  their  number  to  start  at  once  with  the 
order  to  Durango,  and  the  messenger  was  soon  on  his 
flying  trip. 

Next  morning,  we  loaded  the  wounded  into  wagons 
and  on  animals,  as  well  as  we  could,  and  started  on 
the  marcli  for  Chihuahua.  The  specie  was  loaded  into 
another  wagon,  and  properly  guarded,  as  it  was  con- 
sidered a  capital  prize. 

When  about  four  miles  from  the  city,  we  met  a  man 
named  Jose  Cordaro,  a  great  friend  of  the  Americans. 
He  inquired  for  the  commander,  and  was  referred  to 
Colonel  Doniphan.  He  informed  the  colonel  that  the 
men,  generally,  had  escaped  from  the  city,  fearing  the 
Yankees.  A  few  Americans  were  left,  at  the  Mint,  and 
some  old  people,  and  a  few  friendly  Mexicans  ;  but  the 
city,  with  its  population,  mainly  composed  of  women 
and  children,  was  entirely  at  his  mercy. 

Colonel  Doniplian  halted  his  troops,  and  ordered 
that  any  man  guilty  of  burning,  sacking,  or  destroy- 
ing private  property,  or  disturbing  any  family,  or 
stealing  the  effects  of  the  Mexicans  of  that  jjl^ce, 
would  suffer  death.  We  then  marched  into  the  city 
in  good  order. 

The  troops  were  disposed  of  at  several  stations,  and 
the  prisoners  placed  in  my  old  quarters,  the  Bull  Pen, 
or  amphitheater,  with  a  strong  guard  over  them. 

Colonel  Doniphan  was  notified  that  many  convicts 


132  Doniphan's  laws. 

were  starving  to  deatli,  in  the  nnder-gronnd  cells  of 
the  cit}'  prison,  for  the  authorities  had  run  off  witli  the 
keys,  and  tlie  poor  wretches  could  not  be  got  out.  H© 
ordered  our  quartermaster.  Lieutenant  Lee  (a  ne];)hew 
of  General  Lee),  to  send  a  wagon  load  of  provisions, 
which  was  done  forthwith,  the  colonel  going  himself. 
It  was  impossible  to  get  the  doors  open,  until  powder 
was  picked  into  the  lock  and  exploded.  Even  then,  a 
sledge-liammer  was  required  to  tinish  the  work. 

The  prisoners  were  ordered  to  march  out.  Some 
had  been  underground  so  long  that  they  resembled 
corpses.  After  they  were  all  formed  in  front  of  the 
prison.  Colonel  Doniphan  told  me  and  Gabe  Allen  to 
tell  those  Mexicans,  in  Spanish,  that  he  didn't  know 
wliat  they  were  in  there  for,  but  he  didn't  suppose  it 
was  for  any  good,  at  all  events,  he  was  going  to  give 
them  their  freedom  ;  but  before  doing  so,  would  read 
liis  laws  to  them,  and  they  must  be  very  particular  in 
their  obedience.     His  instructions  were  short : 

Any  person  stealing  tlie  value  of  five  dollars,  or 
under,  would  receive  four  hundred  lashes. 

Thefts  over  that  amount  would  be  punished  by 
hanging. 

Any  crime  worse  than  stealing,  as  aforesaid,  would 
certainly  be  punished  with  death. 

He  said  he  was  ignorant  of  their  former  laws,  but 
tliose  were  his  laws,  and  they  might  rely  on  their  being 
enforced. 

"All  right,"  shouted  the  Mexicans.  "Hurrah  for 
our  new  Governor !" 

The  colonel  told  me  and  Mr.  Allen  to  say  to  them 
that  there  was  a  wagon  load  of  provisions  which  would 
be  divided  among  them,  after  which  they  must  go  im- 
mediately to  the  scene  of  the  late  battle,  put  all  the 


NEWS   FROM   DURANGO.  133 

dead  in  ditches,  cover  them  up,  and  return  and  report 
to  liini.  They  got  their  provisions,  and  started  off, 
under  guard,  and  the  colonel  returned  to  his  quarters. 

During  the  day.  Colonel  Owens  was  buried,  with 
militar}-  honors,  in  the  Catholic  cenict^^ry.  The  second 
day,  in  the  afternoon,  the  burial  party  returned,  and 
formed  in  front  of  Colonel  Doniphan's  residence,  some 
being  dressed  in  the  clothes  of  tlie  dead  soldiers,  and 
wearing  soldier  caps.  They  had  picked  up  consider- 
erable  specie,  that  was  scattered  about  in  the  road. 

They  reported  that  they  had  buried  all  the  dead,  in 
good  shape,  and  wanted  to  know  what  to  do  next. 
They  told  Allen  and  me  to  say  to  Colonel  Doniphan 
that  if  they  could  be  supplied  with  arms,  they  would 
fight  for  us.  The  colonel  told  me  to  say  that  he  should 
have  thought  better  of  them  if  they  had  not  made  any 
such  proposition  to  fight  against  their  own  nation,  as 
lie  despised  all  traitors ;  but  he  would  give  them  em- 
ployment, temporarily,  at  cleaning  the  streets,  bring- 
ing in  wood  and  water  for  the  army,  and  other  various 
kinds  of  work,  and  their  wages  should  be  fifty  cents 
per  da}^  but  they  must  be  sure  not  to  steal  anything. 

A  few  days  after  this,  a  Mexican  returned  from  Du- 
rango,  bringing  a  letter  from  James  McGuffin,  stating 
that  they  had  been  liberated  before  the  messenger  arri- 
ved there,  news  having  come  that  the  Mexicans  had 
been  defeated  at  Sacramento.  Everything  belonging 
to  them  had  been  returned  to  them,  and  they  would 
soon  arrive  at  Chihuahua.  The  same  Mexican  brought 
a  letter  from  the  authorities  at  Durango,  to  the  officers 
that  we  had  taken  prisoners.  Next  day,  those  officers 
calh'd  on  me  to  interpret  for  them,  and  asked  me  if  I 
would  see  Colonel  Doniphan  and  request  him  to  lib- 
erate them.     I  did  so,  but  the  colonel  objected.     He 


134  ENFOECEMENT   OF   DONIPHAI^'S   LAWS. 

gave  me  orders,  however,  to  go  to  the  Bull  Pen  and 
turn  out  the  Mexican  soldiers,  and  read  to  them,  in 
Spanish,  the  same  law  I  had  read  to  the  convicts,  and 
bring  their  officers  down  before  him. 

He  told  the  officers  they  could  stay  in  a  room  adjoin- 
ing his,  considering  them  men  of  honor.  They  could 
go  out,  and  come  in,  but  must  lodge  there  till  the  four 
men  from  Durango  arrived. 

In  about  two  weeks  after  Colonel  Doniphan's  entry 
into  Chihuahua,  two  of  the  thieves  he  had  let  out  of 
prison,  stole  some  blankets  from  one  of  his  soldiers. 
"When  the  articles  were  found  with  them,  they  were 
taken  at  once  to  two  ash  trees  near  each  other  in  the 
public  square.  The  law  was  administered,  four  hun- 
dred lashes  being  laid  on  to  each.  One  of  the  crimi- 
nals died  at  the  foot  of  the  tree,  and  the  otlier  the 
Second  day  after. 

Six  days  after  this,  the  artillery  horses  were  in  a 
clover  field  on  tlie  opposite  side  of  the  river  Chiliualma. 
Nine  Mexicans  stole  nine  of  the  horses,  and  started  for 
the  mountains.  Doniplian  had  with  him  eight  Shaw- 
nee trackers, — among  them,  my  old  friend,  Shawnee 
Jake.  They  were  called  on,  and  immediately  struck 
the  track.  The  second  day  they  overtook  the  Mexi- 
cans, in  a  valley  in  the  mountains.  Eight  were  asleep, 
while  tlie  ninth  watched  the  liorses.  He  started  to  run 
and  was  shot  dead  by  one  of  the  Shawnees  ;  the  others 
were  taken  prisoners,  put  on  the  horses,  their  feet  tied 
under  the  horses'  bellies,  by  the  Shawnees,  who  re- 
turned with  them  and  report(^d  the  killing,  the  arrest, 
and  the  recovery  of  the  horses. 

Colonel  Doniphan  told  me  to  ask  them  if  they  did 
not  understand  his  laws.  They  said  yes,  and  if  he 
would  pardon  them,  they  would  observe  them.      He 


MY   FRIEXD   OF   THE   HOUSE  TRADE.  135 

told  thorn  tlicy  would  not  violate  any  more  laws,  be- 
cause they  had  only  one  hour  to  live.  A  two-horse 
wagon  w^as  immediately  brought  out,  and  horses  put 
before  it.  The  prisoners  were  placed  in  the  wagon, 
each  with  his  hands  tied  behind  him  and  a  rope 
about  his  neck.  The  doomed  Mexicans  now  asked 
leave  to  confess  their  sins  to  their  priest.  The  colonel 
told  them  he  had  no  priests  in  the  city  ;  they  had  all 
run  away,  and  there  was  no  time  for  such  a  ceremony, 
under  the  circumstances. 

The  wagon  was  then  drawn  to  what  was  called  the 
Alameda,  a  kind  of  park.  A  long,  heavy  stick  of 
timber  was  securely  placed  in  the  crotch  of  two  trees, 
overhead,  the  wagon  driven  under  the  timber,  and 
while  the  culprits  stood  up,  the  ropes  were  firmly  fas- 
tened to  the  timber,  about  two  feet  apart.  The  team- 
ster cracked  his  whip,  and  they  were  left  hanging  in 
tlie  air.  There  was  no  more  stealing  heard  of  in  Chi- 
huahua, w^hile  Colonel  Doniphan  remained  there. 

Finding  that  Colonel  Doniphan  would  not  allow 
their  property  to  be  injured,  people  commenced  re- 
turning to  the  city,  and  brought  wood,  hay,  grain, 
fresh  meat,  and  eveiything  desirable  for  the  army. 

I  was  at  the  Quartermaster's  department,  one  day, 
when  I  saw  the  Mexican  I  had  swapj^ed  horses  with  so 
unceremoniously  on  the  mountain,  driving  up  with  a 
load  of  hay.  As  soon  as  he  got  his  hay  unloaded,  I 
spoke  to  him. 

"My  friend,"  said  I,  "do  you  know  mel" 

After  looking  at  me  carefully  for  some  time,  he  re- 
plied : 

"No,  I  do  not." 

As  I  had  left  off  my  "Greaser"  dress,  and  got  on  a 
citizen  suit,  this  was  not  to  be  wondered  at. 


136  ARRIVAL   OF   FRIENDS   FROM   DURANGO. 

"Do  you  recollect  trading  horses  with  a  man,  out 
here  on  the  side  of  the  mountain?"  I  asked. 

"Yes,"  he  replied,  "I  recollect  the  trade,  but  you 
do  not  look  like  the  man." 

I  satislied  him,  by  repeating  the  conversation,  that 
it  was  me  he  traded  with,  and  inquired  of  him  how  my 
old  favorite  Limber  Bill  was,  and  found  that  he  still 
owned  him,  and  that  he  had  fully  recovered.  As  I 
had  become  much  attached  to  the  horse,  and  prized 
him  very  highly  as  a  gift  from  my  wife,  I  proposed  to 
trade  again,  offering  him  his  horse  and  ten  dollars 
if  he  would  bring  mine  with  him  next  time  he  came 
into  town.  This  he  did,  a  few  days  after,  and  was  as 
much  pleased  as  I  was  at  the  turn  the  trade  had  taken. 
I  saw  him  several  times,  afterwards,  and  laughed  and 
joked  with  him  about  our  horse  trade. 

The  ensuing  week,  my  friends  arrived  from  Duran- 
go.  They  were  happy  to  see  me  and  the  other  Amer- 
icans. So  grateful  were  they  for  my  services  in  carry- 
ing their  letter,  tliat  tliey  made  up  a  purse  of  live 
hundred  dollars  for  me,  begging  me  to  accept  it,  offer- 
ing to  increase  it  to  a  thousand,  if  I  was  willing.  I 
declined  any  further  contribution,  though  I  accepted  a 
present  of  a  splendid  pair  of  Colt's  revolvers,  from 
Mr.  James  McGuffin. 


CHAPTEE  YIII. 

ARITMOR  reaching  us  from  central  Mexico,  that  a 
Inrge  body  of  troops  were  coming  against  Colonel 
Doniphan,  to  drive  him  and  his  force  out  of  the 
country,  the  colonel  called  on  Gabe  Allen  and  me, 
knowing  us  to  be  acquainted  with  the  language  and 
ways  of  the  Mexicans,  to  go  as  spies,  and  iind  out  the 
truth  of  the  rejiort.  We  consented,  and  went  about 
two  hundred  and  lifty  miles  below  Chihuahua,  travel- 
ing chieHy  by  night,  and  away  from  the  roads.  We 
learned  some  facts  of  importance,  from  friendly 
sources,  and  as  we  were  about  to  return,  we  met  an 
American  traveling  on  the  road  with  a  train  of  wagons, 
who  appeared  to  be  posted  up  on  war  matters,  who 
said  that  no  troops  had  been  organized,  as  yet,  to 
operate  against  Colonel  Doniphan,  but  that  the  country 
around  there,  especially  the  States  of  Durango  and 
Zacatecas,  had  been  drained  of  all  the  able-bodied 
Mexicans,  to  recruit  General  Santa  Anna's  army, 
which  was  b(nng  badly  whipped  and  demoralized  by 
General  Taylor's  army.  We  returned  cautiously  and 
safely  to  Chihuahua,  and  reported  accordingly,  to 
Colon(^l  Doniphan. 

Soon  after,  the^  colonel  decided  to  send  an  ex])ress  to 
General  Taylor,  and  detailed  twelve  of  his  best  men, 
under  the  lead  of  Sergeant*  James  Collins,  for  that  pur- 
pose. They  started  across  the  country,  with  a  fi-iendly 
Mexican  guide,  traveling  nights,  with  orders  to  reach 
General  Taylor' s  head-quarters  as  soon  as  possible. 


138  DISPATCHES   FOR  GOVERNOR   BENT. 

The  day  after  tlieir  departure,  Colonel  Doniplian 
told  nie  he  had  important  dispatches  which  he  wished 
taken  to  Governor  Bent,  at  Santa  Fe,  and  asked  if  I 
Avould  undertake  the  task  of  getting  through  with  them. 
I  consented,  on  condition  that  he  furnished  me  a 
picked  saddle  mule,  and  two  of  his  Shawnees,  who 
should  be  similarly  mounted,  and  a  pack  mule  loaded 
with  provisions ;  for  I  did  not  dare  to  go  near  any 
Mexican  settlement  on  the  way  up.  These  arrange- 
ments suited,  and  all  was  in  readiness  by  dark  that 
evening.  We  started  off  well  armed  and  in  good  spirits, 
and  had  no  trouble  on  the  journey,  as  we  avoided 
public  roads,  and  traveled  nights  only.  We  made  the 
best  time  on  record  between  the  two  cities,  reaching 
Santa  Fe  in  nine  days. 

Governor  Bent  gave  us  a  cordial  reception,  remem- 
bering me  well,  from  our  long  acquaintance,  years 
before,  at  Bent's  Fort,  and  elsewhere.  He  said  that 
tlie  dispatches  were  very  important,  and  required  an 
answer,  which  we  must  take  back  to  Doniphan ;  and 
I  told  him  I  was  ready  to  return  after  laying  over  a 
day  or  two,  for  rest  and  to  recruit  our  animals.  He 
further  stated  that  Price's  regiment  was  on  its  way  to 
Santa  Fe,  from  Missouri,  and  would  be  there  in  about 
a  week. 

During  my  interviews  with  him,  I  noticed  that  he 
was  imusually  gay  and  cheerful,  telling  me  many 
funny  stories  about  his  recent  experience  in  his  new 
character  of  governor  over  that  semi-civilized  commu- 
nity. After  giving  me  dispatches  to  take  back  to  Col- 
onel Doniphan,  he  told  me  he  had  received  an  invita- 
tion to  attend  a  Mexican  feast,  at  a  little  town  some 
twenty-five  miles  east  of  Santa  Fe,  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountains ;  and  as  it  was  the  birth-place  of  Ms  wife, 


bent's  assassination.  139 

who  was  a  Mexican  woman,  lie  had  about  concluded 
to  attend,  as  it  would  make  liim  more  poi)ular  among 
the  Mexicans.  I  had  doubts  about  the  exj^tediciicy  of 
his  going,  knowing  tlie  treachery  of  the  natives,  but 
left  him,  simply  cautioning  him  to  be  on  the  lookout 
for  danger.  I  had  no  particular  fear  for  his  personal 
safety,  but  that  the  garrison  would  be  surprised  du-. 
ring  his  absence. 

I  soon  returned  to  Chihuahua,  accomplishing  the 
distance  in  eleven  days,  carrying  the  dispatclies  to 
Colonel  DonijDlian,  and  making  my  report.  The  col^ 
onel  complimented  Jiw  for  my  speed  and  trustworthi- 
ness, remarking  that  we  had  made  extraordinary  time. 
The  usual  time  of  mule  trains  over  the  road  was  eight- 
een or  twenty  days. 

The  eighth  day  after  my  return,  a  courier  from 
Santa  Fe  came  into  Colonel  Doniphan's  head-quarters, 
with  the  news  that  Governor  Bent  had  been  assassin- 
ated at  the  Mexican  feast  before  referred  to,  by  tlie 
treacherous  Greasers.  About  tlie  time  of  the  assassin- 
ation. Price  reached  Santa  Fe  with  his  regiment.  He 
was  so  enraged  that  he  at  once  executed  nearly  four 
hundred  JSIexicans,  by  w^ay  of  retaliation  for  the  mur- 
der of  Governor  Bent,  and  reported  the  facts  to  Col- 
onel Doniphan,  who  sent  back  orders  that  he  (Price) 
should  assume  the  Governorship  now  vacant. 

About  the  time  of  Bent's  assassination,  Colonel 
Donixihan  sent  for  me,  and  wished  me  to  take  dis- 
patches to  Fremont,  which  had  reaclu^d  him.  to  be 
forwarded,  from  the  lower  part  of  Mexico.  Fremont 
was  at  this  time  on  his  exploring  tour  in  California,  in 
which  he  had  difficulty  with  Governor  Castro. 

I  left  camp  alone,  for  this  trip  of  four  hundred  miles, 
inount^jd  on  my  Comanche  horse,  Limber  BUI,  and 


140  DISPATCHES   TO   FREMONT. 

leading  a  pack  mule,  carrying  my  provisions  and  a 
very  few  cooking  ntensils.  As  I  had  been  through, 
this  part  of  the  country  before,  and  knew  the  habits  of 
the  Indians  who  ranged  over  it,  I  managed  to  avoid 
them  till  I  had  nearly  reached  my  destination.  To  do 
this,  required  the  gi^eatest  caution.  Towards  night,  I 
would  build  a  fire  and  cook  what  meat  I  needed  for 
my  supper  and  to  last  me  till  the  next  night,  make  a 
cup  of  coffee,  and  eat  my  supper,  while  my  animals 
were  feeding ;  then  1  would  mount  my  horse  and  ride 
several  miles  before  stopping  for  the  night,  for  fear  the 
smoke  of  my  fire  might  have  been  seen,  and  would 
bring  hostile  Indians  upon  me.  I  sometimes  made  a 
little  fire,  enough  to  boil  coffee,  in  the  morning,  taking 
great  care  to  make  but  little  smoke. 

Although  I  saw  a  great  many  signs  of  Indians,  some 
of  them  very  fresh,  I  had  no  trouble  until  tlie  ninth 
day  out ;  when,  as  I  was  leading  up  my  pack  mule, 
preparing  to  resume  my  journey,  I  was  fired  on  by  a 
party  of  four  Navajo  Indians,  one  shot  striking  my 
mule  in  the  neck,  killing  liim  instantly.  I  saw  that 
my  only  chance  was  in  a  running  fight,  and  so  put  my 
horse  to  a  gallop,  abandoning  my  provisions,  blankets, 
and  cooking  utensils.  The  Indians  followed  some 
three  or  four  miles,  exchanging  shots  with  me  fre- 
quently. Fortunately,  I  received  no  injury,  but  suc- 
ceeded in  hitting  two  of  my  pursuers,  one  of  whom  I 
saw  fall  from  his  horse.  Finally  they  left  me  and  re- 
turned ;  probably  to  look  after  their  prize, — the  mule 
and  his  pack.  Two  days  after  this  fight,  I  came  up 
with  Fremont,  having  eaten  nothing  in  the  meantime, 
but  two  rabbits  I  had  shot  and  roasted. 

On  my  presenting  the  dispatches  to  Fremont,  he  re- 
marked that  I  must  have  had  a  dangerous  and  loiu^ly 


THE   KEOIMKXT   OKDEIIED   TO   JOIN   TAYI.OU.       141 

trip  to  reacli  liiiii,  and  asked  me  if  I  thonglit  I  could 
mal^e  my  way  back  in  safety.  I  replied  that  I  tliouglit 
I  could,  by  taking  a  different  route.  During  my  stay 
in  camp,  lie  showed  me  every  attention,  and  did  all  he 
could  to  make  my  stay  pleasant. 

Here  I  met  my  old  friend.  Kit  Carson,  who  was  act- 
ing as  guide  to  Fremont.  As  I  had  not  seen  him  for 
about  four  3"ears,  as  may  be  imagined,  we  had  a  great 
many  adventures  to  relate  to  each  otlier. 

The  fourth  day  after  my  arrival,  Fremont  gave  me 
the  rejily  to  the  dispatches ;  fitted  me  out  with  another 
mule,  and  provisions,  blankets,  &c.,  and  I  started  on 
my  return  Chihuahua,  where  I  arrived  without  any 
particular  adventure,  after  an  absence  of  about  four 
weeks,  thoroughly  jaded  and  worn  out. 

In  a  very  short  time  after  my  return  from  Fremont, 
Sergeant  James  Collins  and  his  squad  returned  from 
General  Taylor's  cam]:),  bringing  orders  for  Colonel 
Doniphan  to  march  forthwith  to  Saltillo. 

As  soon  as  he  could  regulate  his  affair's  in  Chihua- 
hua, and  get  into  marching  order  (which  only  delayed 
three  days),  the  little  arm}"  was  on  the  move  to  join 
General  Taylor. 

I  was  appointed  interpreter  for  the  Quartermaster's 
department,  doing  general  service  with  Lieutenant  Lee, 
the  quartermaster ;  and  it  was  my  dut}'  to  provide, 
somewhat,  for  the  regiment,  going  in  advance  with  a 
strong  guard,  for  foraging  purposes,  &c.  My  fiiend, 
Gabe  Allen,  had  an  easier  berth  ;  his  duty  biing  to  act 
as  interpreter  for  Colonel  Doniphan,  and  assist  him  in 
his  business  dealings  with  tlu^  Mexicans  on  th(^  route. 

Colonel  Doniphan,  before  we  left  the  city,  requested 
me  to  hire  four  Mi^xicans  to  assist  in  taking  care  of  the 
artillery  mules.     I  engaged  four  of  the  most  honest- 


142"  PUNISHMENT   OF   MEXICAN   THIEVES. 

looking  cliaps  I  conld  find,  but  they  turned  out  rascals. 
We  had  been  on  the  march  only  three  days,  when 
these  Mexicans  stole  eight  of  the  best  mules  we  had, 
and  started  back  for  Chihuahua.  I  was  ordered  to 
take  six  Shawnees,  and  go  in  pursuit.  After  a  fifteen 
mile  chase,  we  lost  the  track ;  but  the  leading  Shawnee 
going  back  a  short  distance,  found  where  they  had 
turned  off  the  road  into  a  thick  forest,  and  we  pursued 
them  about  three  miles  further,  when  we  overtook  the 
rogues.  Two  of  them  we  shot ;  and  the  other  two 
begged  for  their  lives,  which  request  we  granted  just 
long  enough  to  get  our  rawhide  ropes  ready  to  hang 
them  to  the  trees.  One  of  them  resisted  when  he  saw 
our  prex)arations,  whereupon  a  Shawnee  pulled  out  his 
knife,  and  stabbed  him,  killing  him  instantly.  The 
other  met  his  fate  very  meekly,  and  we  left  him  hang- 
ing to  the  tree.  After  securing  the  stolen  mules,  we 
hastened  back  to  the  army  as  rapidly  as  possible.  We 
met  them  at  a  pass  in  the  chain  of  mountains,  where 
they  had  halted  for  dinner.  I  reported  to  Colonel 
Doni2:)han  that  we  had  got  all  the  mules  back,  and  he 
inquired  what  had  become  of  the  runaway  Mexicans. 
I  replied  that  that  we  left  three  on  the  ground  where 
they  wouldn't  steal  any  more  mules ;  the  fourth  we 
had  elevated  on  a  tree  to  keep  guard  over  his  com- 
rades.    The  report  was  entirely  satisfactory  to  him. 

While  I  was  lunching  with  the  colonel,  he  remarked 
that  one  of  his  best  men,  Captain  Reid,  who  had  been 
wounded  in  the  thigh  by  a  copper  ball,  at  the  battle  of 
Sacramento,  was  rapidly  failing  in  health,  and  he 
feared  he  would  die.  The  poison  of  the  copper  had 
been  checked,  at  the  hospital  in  Chihuahua,  though 
the  ball  could  not  be  found,  and  moving  him  in  the 
ambulance  w^as  causing  inflammation  which  the  sur- 


SCOUTING   AND   FORAGING.  143 

geons  pronounced  dangerous  ;  but  we  dared  not  leav<i 
him  on  our  niarcli,  neither  would  he  be  left  with  the 
Mexicans,  fearing  hard  usage.  He  also  said  that  his 
advance  guard  had  reported  that  they  had  seen  tracks 
of  horsemen,  and  he  feared-  guerrilla  bands  might  give 
us  some  trouble.  He  requested  that  as  soon  as  my 
dinner  was  linished  I  would  select  some  of  the  best 
Shawnee  trackings,  and  go  ahead,  examine  the  signs 
closely,  and  report. 

With  eight  Shawnee  Indians  I  started  on,— the  reg- 
iment following  slowly, — and  we  discovered  tracks  of 
a  number  of  mounted  men,  probably  guerrillas ;  but 
our  Shawnees,  who  were  expert  on  the  trail,  said  they 
were  three  or  four  days  old,  and  there  was  no  danger 
at  present. 

Traveling  on  till  sunset,  we  came  to  a  large  Mexican 
stock  ranche.  As  soon  as  the  Mexicans  saw  us  coming, 
they  started  to  run.  I  called  to  them  in  Spanish,  to 
come  back,  as  there  was  no  danger.  Stopping  them,  I 
rode  up  and  asked  for  the  owner  of  the  ranche.  They 
pointed  to  a  large  hacienda,  or  country  seat,  a  mile 
ahead,  where  they  said  lived  the  owner,  a  rich  Castilian 
Mexican.  Going  up  to  this  mansion,  with  my  Shaw- 
nees, I  found  the  gentleman  badly  frightened.  I  told 
him  I  wanted  five  beef  cattle  killed,  and  should  need  a 
hundred  bushels  of  corn  for  our  army  in  tlie  rear, 
offering  to  pay  for  such  supplies  as  we  needed.  He 
said  :  "  With  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  ;  anything  you 
want,  you  can  have."' 

He  asked  if  I  was  a  Mexican.  I  answered  that  I 
was  an  American,  but  from  my  long  experience  among 
Mexicans,  I  spoke  Spanish  as  well  as  English  ;  or  if  I 
was  among  Indians,  I  could  speak  five  of  their  lan- 
gnages.     I  was  soon  in  an  easy  conversation  with  him, 


144  REGIMENT   PKOVIDED   FOR. 

when  lie  learned,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry,  tliat  Colonel 
Doniphan  was  in  command  of  the  regiment  which  was 
just  then  coming  in  sight.     He  said  he  had  heard  of 
his  defeating  five  times  his  own  number  at  Sacramento, 
and  expressed  great  admiration  of  his  military  ability. 
He  then  requested  me  to  assure  Colonel  Doniphan  of 
his  personal  regards,  and  say  that  the  beef  and  corn 
should  be  furnished  at  once  ;  and  to  invite  him  and  his 
staff  to  spend  the  night  at  his  house.     I  thanked  him, 
and  gladly  rode  back  with  the  message,  reporting  to 
Colonel  Doniphan  that  I  had  provided  everything  ne- 
cessary for  the  troops,  and  had  an  invitation  from  the 
Mexican  for  himself  and  staff  to  stay  at  his  house,  and 
partake  of  his  hospitality.     Also  reported  that  all  was 
quiet  in  the  neighborhood,  the  old  Mexican  having 
assured  me  that  all  the  able-bodied  men  about  there 
had  gone  to  join  Santa  Anna's  army. 

The  colonel  and  I,  with  several  officers,  rode  forward 
to  the  mansion,  the  proprietor  coming  forward  to  greet 
us  with  a  hearty  welcome.  He  had  the  beeves  killed 
immediately,  and  the  corn  put  out  in  the  yard,  where 
it  was  handy  to  use  as  wanted.  The  colonel  asked  if 
he  could  furnish  a  room  for  a  sick  officer,  and  he  said : 
"Certainly;  with  pleasure,  Colonel." 

Captain  Reid  was  carried  into  a  room,  and  placed  on 
a  comfortable  bed.  He  appeared  to  be  sinking  rapidly. 
The  regiment  encamped  near  the  house,  the  meat 
was  distributed  to  them,  and  the  corn  issued  ;  in  fact, 
everything  furnished  that  was  necessary.  The  gentle- 
manly Castilian  tapped  a  keg  of  first-class  wine,  and 
invited  the  colonel  and  all  the  officers  to  take  supper 
with  him.  The  invitation  was  accepted ;  and  all  the 
officers  who  were  not  on  duty,  were  called  in  about 
ten  o'clock'.     The  supper  was  splendid,  and  the  wine 


SETTLING   THE   BILL.  145 

flowed  freely.  CoIoik^  Doniphan  sat  at  the  head  of 
tlie  table,  with  his  officers  around  it,  and  the  Castilian 
and  his  lady  insisted  on  the  privilege  of  waiting  on 
them. 

We  had  a  fine  drum  corps  with  ns,  and  while  we 
were  eating,  they  played  several  of  our  national  airs, 
which  was  the  first  time  the  host  and  his  lady  had 
ever  heard  such  pieces  as  "The  Star  Spangled  Ban- 
ner," "Yankee  Doodle,"  "Red,  White,  and  Blue," 
and  the  like.  He  was  so  pleased,  that  after  we  were 
through,  the  band  was  invited  in  and  treated  to  a 
plenty  of  wine. 

After  supper,  comfortable  beds  were  provided  for 
the  officers,  and  Captain  Reid  was  the  recipient  of 
every  attention,  Doctor  Waldo  and  three  soldiers  sisij- 
ing  in  his  room  all  night. 

We  all  had  a  comfortable  night's  rest.  We  had  ar- 
ranged to  start  the  regiment  the  next  morning  at  eight 
o'clock.  Just  before  starting,  Colonel  Doniphan  sent 
me  to  our  host,  to  ask  for  the  amount  of  our  bill,  and 
directed  the  quartermaster  to  pay  whatever  was  agreed 
upon.  Upon  asking  the  Castilian  his  price,  he  was 
surprised,  and  said  :   "Nothing  at  all." 

Colonel  Doniphan,  on  hearing  this,  rode  up,  and 
said:  "Sir,  this  is  not  the  way  I  do  my  business;  I 
always  pay  my  way." 

"Well,"  replied  the  Castilian,  "that's  more  than 
the  Mexican  troops  have  ever  done.  They  have  been 
here  often,  but  they  took  what  they  want(^d,  and  never 
said  anything  about  x>^y-" 

It  was  soon  arranged  that  we  should  pay  only  a  low 

price,  viz. :  seven  dollars  a  head  for  tlu^  beeves,  and 

fifty  cents  a  bushel  for  the  corn  ;  which  prices  he  was 

well  pleased  with.     On  parting,  he  thanked  Colonel 

10 


146  DEATH    OF   CAPTAIN   KEID. 

Doniphan  for  the  pleasure  of  his  company,  and  re- 
marked that  he  should  prefer  the  American  govern- 
ment, to  tlie  miserable  rule  of  the  Mexican,  but  he 
was  placed  in  a  delicate  position,  with  his  extensive 
property,  that  compelled  him  to  keep  still.  Captain 
Reid  was  then  placed  in  an  ambulance,  and  the  troops 
resumed  the  march. 

We  had  twenty-four  miles  to  travel  that  day,  with- 
out water.  Captain  Jackson,  with  a  mounted  guard, 
was  ordered  to  go  in  advance,  with  me  and  the  Shaw- 
nees,  to  provide  for  the  regiment,  and  if  any  roving 
bands  of  Mexicans  were  seen,  to  report  to  the  colonel. 
We  reached  Mapimi,  a  lead-mining  village  about  three 
o'clock.  The  Mexicans  were  much  alarmed  when 
they  saw  us  approaching.  I  let  them  know  that  there 
was  no  danger,  and  inquired  for  the  judge  of  the  vil- 
lage. I  found  him  at  last,  the  biggest,  blackest,  ugliest 
Mexican  I  ever  looked  at.  I  told  him  I  wanted  five 
beeves,  and  a  hundred  bushels  of  corn.  He  said  he 
had  no  such  property,  but  I  told  him  his  friends  had, 
and  he  must  furnish  them,  as  they  would  be  paid  for. 
He  sent  out  among  tlie  villagers  immediately,  and  or- 
dered the  beeves  and  corn  to  be  furnished. 

We  went  to  a  cottonwood  grove  near  by,  where 
there  was  a  stream  of  water,  and  selected  a  good 
camping  ground  for  the  regiment,  and  then  going  back 
to  Colonel  Doniphan,  I  reported  that  everything  neces- 
sary was  provided.  This  was  good  news  to  him,  as 
some  of  the  troops  were  nearly  exhausted,  and  Cap- 
tain Reid  was  failing  rapidly. 

We  arrived  at  the  camping  ground  at  half  past  four 
o'clock,  and  Captain  Reid  died  at  sunset.  The  weath- 
er was  hot,  and  mortification  had  caused  his  death. 

We  laid  over  here  the  next  day,  for  rest,  and  to  bury 


ALAMO   DE   PARRAS.  147 

the  captain  with  military  lienors,  for  he  was  univers- 
ally resiject^jd  as  a  splendid  officer  and  a  brave  man. 
The  Mexicans  who  witnessed  the  burial  scene  were 
favorably  impressed,  as  they  saw  the  soldiers  of  the 
burial  squad,  after  each  liad  put  a  handful  of  dirt  in 
the  grave,  lire  a  balute  over  it. 

Next  morning,  after  settling  our  bill  for  the  supplies 
that  were  furnished  us  by  the  citizens,  we  resumed  our 
march,  arriving  towards  evening  on  the  bank  of  a  river, 
where  we  encamped.  Tlie  next  day  we  crossed  the 
river,  and  proceeded  to  the  cottonwoods  of  Parras,  or 
Alamo  de  Parras,  where  were  some  salt  works.  Here 
we  were  informed  that  we  had  for  our  next  day's 
march,  a  long  distance  without  water.  I  started  before 
daybreak,  with  Captain  Jackson,  Gabe  Allen,  and  a 
squad  of  eighteen  mounted  troops,  who  had  been 
detailed  to  accompny  us,  to  a  place  where  the  Mexi- 
cans had  a  famous  well,  with  a  huge  trough,  eighty 
yards  long,  and  holding  water  enough  for  an  entire 
train. 

The  water  was  raised  by  a  Mexican  reel,  or  a 
wheel  with  leathern  buckets  attached  to  it,  and  worked 
by  a  mule.  Here  we  were  to  make  preparations  for 
the  regiment  to  camp  that  night.  On  arriving  at  this 
plac(^,  we  found  one  principal  residence  and  a  number 
of  shanties.  Surrounding  the  large  house  was  a  wall, 
ten  feet  high,  pierced  with  port  holes,  for  defense 
against  the  Indians.  The  wall  was  built  of  adobes 
(sun-dried  brick,  about  eighteen  inches  long,  six  inches 
wide,  and  three  or  four  inches  thick),  and  was  about 
a  hundred  yards  square. 

We  went  within  the  walls,  and  gave  orders  for  beef 
and  corn  to  be  brought,  and  watiM-  to  be  drawn,  which 
the  owner  said  would  be  accomplished  as    soon  as 


148  IlS^DIAN   CKUELTY. 

possible.  We  arrived  there  about  eleven  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  expecting  the  regiment  at  evening. 

While  I  was  receiving  corn,  which  was  being  poured 
out  on  rawhides,  inside  the  walls,  Gabe  Allen  and  all 
the  soldiers  (except  one  who  stood  guard  over  the  arms 
and  equipments  of  the  escort)  laid  down  for  a  short 
sleep,  as  the  sun  was  uncommonly  hot,  and  our  men 
were  tired,  as  we  had  traveled  nearly  thirty  miles  that 
morning. 

I  was  busily  engaged,  measuring  the  corn,  when  a 
little  Mexican  boy,  the  son  Of  the  woman  who  lived 
within  the  walls,  came  running  in,  crying : 

"  Oh,  mother !  the  Indians  are  here  !" 

"What  Indians?"  I  asked. 

The  mother  and  son  were  frightened  ;  but  I  went  to 
the  gate,  and  looking  out,  saw  about  eighty  of  the 
"Hickories"  tribe  of  Indians,  with  some  four  hundred 
horses  and  mules,  at  the  watering  place.  One  of  th(^ 
savages  was  whipping  tlie  man  wlio  had  charge  of  the 
mule  at  the  reel,  to  make  him  work  faster,  as  they 
were  thirsty,  and  had  traveled  a  long  distance  without 
water. 

It  was  a  very  hot  day,  and  to  secure  shelter,  a  stray 
ox  had  gone  into  a  deserted  grass  shanty,  near  the 
watering  place.  For  sport,  the  Indians  had  shut  the 
door,  and  set  the  shanty  on  fire,  and  the  poor  beast 
was  being  roasted  alive,  making  a  terrific  noise.  I  ran 
and  shook  Gabe  Allen,  and  told  him  the  watering 
place  outside  was  surrounded  by  a  host  of  Indians 
and  animals.  He  partially  waked,  and  asked,  "Mex- 
ican guerrillas  ?" 

"No,"  said  I,  "Indians!" 

Captain  Jackson,  who  was  busy  seeing  to  the  din- 
ner, which  was  preparing  for  us,  immediately  called 


FIGHT   WITH    INDIANS.  149 

ap  liis  troops,  and  running  to  a  port-hole,  looked  out, 
and  saw  what  tlic  Indians  were  about. 

"llobbs,"  said  lie,  turning  towards  me,  "  you  and 
Gabe  Allen  are  older  Indian  tigliters  than  I  am.  How 
had  we  better  liglit  tliem,  on  horseback  or  afoot  ? " 

We  said  on  horseback  so  we  could  capture  their 
stock. 

Fortunately  our  horses  were  inside  the  walls,  and  we 
weie  soon  in  the  saddle.  By  this  time,  four  Mexican 
stock-herders  and  men-of-all-work,  who  had  gone  after 
beeves  for  Doniphan's  regiment,  came  galloping  into 
the  inclosure,  badly  frightened,  one  of  them  with  an 
arrow  stickmg  in  his  back.  It  had  penetrated  two  or 
three  inches,  and  was  extracted  without  much  injury. 
The  Indians  had  driven  them  in,  and  taken  from  them 
the  stock  they  were  driving  up  for  us.  We  asked  these 
Mexicans  if  they  would  take  X'^^^'t  ii^  the  fight,  to  get 
their  stock  back,  and  help  us  capture  the  horses  and 
mules  of  the  Indians,  telling  them  we  would  do  the 
heavy  part  of  the  lighting.  They  agreed  to  our  propo- 
sition, and  the  Mexican  owner  of  the  ranche  saddling 
his  mule,  we  mustered  a  force  of  twenty-six  men.  We 
ran  our  horses  out  of  the  gate,  yelling  and  firing  on  the 
Indians,  who,  having  no  idea  of  our  presence,  were 
taken  by  surprise.  Some  were  at  the  trough,  crowded 
among  their  animals,  in  their  eagcn-ness  to  get  water, 
with  their  guns,  bows  and  arrows  resting  against  a  fence. 
Many  did  not  have  time  to  get  hold  of  their  arms.  We 
killed  six  at  the  trough,  and  the  rest  fled  to  tlu^  top  of 
a  rising  piece  of  ground  near  by.  They  had  killed  one 
Mexican  at  the  trough,  and  had  captured  two  or  three 
Mexican  boys  and  girls.  These  children  had  sense 
enough  to  run  inside  the  walls  as  soon  as  the  firing 
commenced.     The  boys,  however,  with  tlie  aid  of  the 


150  DEATH   OF   MY    FAVORITE   HORSE. 

Mexicans  and  several  of  our  mounted  soldiers,  drove 
nearly  all  the  stock  of  the  Indians  inside  the  walls  and 
shut  the  gate.  The  Indian  chiefs  hardly  ever  dismount 
at  short  stoppages  ;  consequently  their  chief  was  able 
to  get  ahead  of  his  scattered  warriors,  most  of  whom 
were  now  on  foot  and  unarmed.  He  rallied  them  on 
the  hill  and  formed  them  in  position  for  defense  ;  but, 
knowing  their  helpless  condition,  we  charged  directly 
through  them,  killing  a  dozen  or  more.  Captain 
Jackson  received  an  arrow  in  his  upper  lip,  which 
penetrated  between  two  teeth.  An  arrow  also  stuck 
in  the  collar-bone  of  one  of  our  guard,  Michael  Mc- 
Laughlin.    He  jerked  it  out,  exclaiming  : 

"Be  Jasus  !  quit  sticking  your  broom  straws  into 
me." 

Gabe  Allen' s  horse  was  badly  wounded.  The  Indians 
cried  out,  "Americans  I  "  and  running  into  a  hollow 
about  three  hundred  yards  distant,  hid  among  the 
brush,  and  prepared  to  defend  themselves.  The  chief 
was  on  a  hill  a  little  way  from  his  men  shouting  his 
orders  to  them.  Gabe  Allen  and  I  ran  in  between  him 
and  his  warriors  and  cut  him  off.  He  tried  to  escape 
on  his  horse,  but  I  gave  chase  and  he,  turning  in  his 
saddle,  discharged  several  arrows  at  me.  When  I  got 
near  enough  I  shot  him  in  the  thigh.  He  turned  his 
horse  to  rush  past  me  and  connect  with  his  men,  when 
Allen  shot  him  through  the  breast.  He  fell  from  his 
horse,  and,  turning  on  his  back  as  I  came  riding  up, 
discharged  an  arrow  which  struck  my  favorite  horse. 
Limber  Bill,  and  I  felt  him  sinking  under  me.  He  was 
wounded  fatally,  the  arrow  penetrating  the  stomach, 
and  I  sorrowfully  abandoned  him.  I  sprang  for  the 
Indian's  horse,  which  was  an  excellent  one,  while  Allen 
finished  the  faUen  chieftain  with  a  shot  through  the 


I      / 


\ 


J /A.  ml'  '>' 


\.  H 


RESCUE    OF    CAPTIVES.  161 

head  from  his  revolver.  Our  men  by  this  time  gathered 
around  us,  and  one  of  the  Mexicans  dragged  up  an 
Indian  whom  lie  had  lassoed  ;  and,  mounted  on  my  new 
horse,  I  led  tlio  party  back  to  the  v^^atering-place,  the 
Mexican  dragging  the  Indian  through  thorny  In-ush 
over  rough  ground  full  three  hundred  yards  to  the  door 
of  the  v^^all.  There  he  stopped,  thinking,  of  course,  the 
Indian  was  dead  ;  but  the  latter  jumped  up,  and  would 
have  got  loose,  if  he  had  not  been  struck  down  by  one 
of  the  Mexicans.  A  few  paces  back  was  found  the 
Indian's  sheath-knife,  which  he  had  probably  pulled 
out  to  cut  the  lasso  which  was  dragging  him  ;  but  the 
rough,  jolting  motion,  peculiar  to  that  mode  of  travel- 
ing, knocked  it  out  of  his  hand. 

AVe  found,  after  scattering  the  Indians,  that  we  had 
killed  eighteen,  besides  the  one  we  lassoed  and  killed, 
and  at  the  ranche  we  found  two  prisoners  that  we  had 
saved  from  their  clutches.  One  was  the  wife  of  a 
Mexican  lawyer  ;  the  other  the  son  of  a  Castilian,  living 
four  miles  south  of  Parras, — a  very  wealthy  man 
named  Manuel  Evarro,  who  had  loaned  General  Wool 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  aid  in  the  prosecution 
of  the  war  against  his  adopted  countr3\  The  unfor- 
tunate lady,  who  was  firmly  tied  to  her  horse,  was 
overjoyed  at  her  rescue.  The  Indians  had  tried  to  run 
her  off,  when  they  retreated,  and,  failing  in  this,  had 
attempted  to  shoot  her,  one  arrow  having  pierced  her 
clothing.  She  stated  that  she  and  her  husband,  while 
traveling  in  a  carriage  the  day  before,  had  be(^n  attacked 
by  these  Indians,  and  her  husband  and  two  servants 
accompanying  them  were  killed  and  she  taken  captive. 
She  was  suffering  terribly  from  the  inhuman  treatment 
she  had  received.  She  was  young,  good  looking,  the 
daughter  of  a  rich  Saltillo  merchant,  and  had  been 


M)2  A^  IXDIAN  TROPHY. 

married  only  a  month.  She  was  kindly  cared  for  by 
the  lady  of  the  ranche  and  next  day  taken  to  Parras. 

The  Mexicans  gathered  tlie  bodies  of  the  slain  In- 
dians, from  the  different  parts  of  the  field,  and  laid 
them  in  a  row,  by  the  wall  of  the  ranche.  The  chief  we 
had  killed  wore  a  beautiful  cap,  made  of  hawk' s  feathers, 
turkey  tails,  red  bird' s  feathers,  and  some  purple  feathers 
from  a  crani^  belonging  to  that  country.  Two  horns  from 
a  buffalo-calf  pointed  up  from  the  sides  of  the  cap.  His 
bow  and  arrows  were  well  made,  the  latter  being  in  a 
quiver  made  of  a  panther' s  skin,  with  a  long  tail  hanging. 
The  cap,  bow  and  arrows,  hunting- shirt,  and  moccasins 
belonging  to  the  chief,  I  secured,  and  presented  them 
on  his  arrival  to  Colonel  Doniphan,  who  forwarded 
them  to  Washington,  where  they  are  still  preserved. 
This  Indian  chief  s  horse,  which  I  appropriated  to  my 
own  use,  was  pure  vdiite,  with  a  tail  that  reached  to 
the  ground,  and  a  long  mane  ;  and,  in  substituting  him 
for  my  faithful  Limber  Bill,  I  had  the  consolation  of 
knowing  that  he  was  a  showy  animal.  We  learned 
from  the  Castilian  boy  that  he  was  out  that  morning 
with  a  servant  driving  a  lot  of  horses  and  mules  to 
water,  when  they  were  surprised,  the  Mexican  killed, 
and  he  captured  witli  all  the  stock.  They  had  brought 
him  twenty -five  miles. 

While  we  were  conversing  with  the  boy,  about  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  Mexicans  came  galloping  towards  us,  and 
tlie  boy  exclaimed,  "There  is  my  father,"  as  he  ran 
to  meet  him.  When  the  father  saw  him  he  sprang 
from  his  horse,  gathered  him  in  his  arms,  and  shed 
tears  of  joy.  The  father  had  been  educated  in  New 
York,  and  spoke  English  fluently.  We  told  him  we 
had  captured  nearly  all  the  animals  brought  there  by 
the  Indians  ;  and,  from  what  liis  son  had  said,  he  must 


COMPLIMENTS   OF  COL.    DONIPHAN.  153 

be  the  rightful  owner  of  many  of  them,  and  told  him 
where  to  find  them  within  the  inclosure.  He  said  the 
animals  were  of  very  small  consequence  to  him,  in 
comparison  with  his  child.  However,  we  insisted,  and 
he  selected  his  own,  and  sent  tliemhomel)y  his  men,  ex- 
pressing his  gratitude  to  us  for  our  services.  He  and  his 
.iion  remained  to  see  the  regiment  when  it  should  arrive. 

The  Mexicans  then  went  to  butchering  stock,  to  be  in 
readiness  for  the  regiment  when  it  should  arrive.  To- 
ward evening  tlie  troops  came  in  sight,  and  were  all 
pleased  to  lind  the  water  drawn,  the  beeves  killed,  and 
the  corn  ready  for  the  animals.  Colonel  Doniphan  and 
his  officers,  when  they  approached  the  ranche,  and  saw 
the  corpses  of  the  Indians  laid  along  by  the  wall,  were 
astonished  beyond  measure,  and  wanted  to  know  the 
whole  story,  which  was  soon  told ;  and  the  colonel 
declared  that  such  success  in  Indian  lighting  was 
remarkable,  and  complimented  us  on  our  bravery. 
Every  man  in  the  regiment  tiled  past  the  Indians,  gazing 
at  the  dead  savages  with  pleased  countenances.  The 
colonel,  usually  very  serious,  had  to  laugli  when 
Michael  McLaughlin  observed,  "  Sarved  um  right, 
colonel ;  see  what  one  of  the  miserable  bastes  did  to 
me,"  pointing  to  the  wound  made  by  the  arrow  in  his 
shoulder. 

Soon  after  the  regiment  arrived,  we  introduced  Don 
Manuel  Evarro  and  his  son  to  the  colonel  and  officers. 
The  wealthy  Mexican  begged  the  privilege  of  ari-anging 
the  dead  bodies  in  a  heap  and  burning  them,  which  was 
granted.  That  evening  Colonel  Doniphan  had  a  long 
conversation  with  Don  Manuel  Evarro,  who  told  him 
he  was  well  acquainted  ^^ith  GcMierals  Wool  and  Taylor, 
wko  had  stayed  at  his  house  sometime  when  they 
marched  through  his  section  by  way  of  Monclova. 


154  ENTERTAINED   BY    MR.    EVARRO. 

Next  morning  Mr.  Evarro  requested  Colonel  Doniphan 
to  march  his  troops  to  his  place,  on  the  road  to  Saltillo, 
where  the  army  would  be  provided  with  every  thing 
comfortable.  This  arrangement  suited  the  colonel,  and 
the  troops  were  put  in  motion.  The  Mexican  lady  we 
had  rescued  was  put  into  Major  Clark's  carriage  and 
conveyed  to  Mr.  Evarro' s  place,  where  his  wife  could 
make  her  comfortable.  On  the  march  Mr.  Evarro  and 
son,  with  myself,  went  ahead  with  an  advance-guard, 
arriving  at  Mr.  Evarro' s  place  about  2  o'clock.  We 
hurried  forward,  on  account  of  his  anxiety  to  relieve 
his  wife  of  her  great  trouble  on  her  son' s  account.  Her 
joy  at  seeing  her  husband  and  son  returning  safe  was 
very  affecting.  Mrs.  Evarro  was  an  American  lady, 
whom  her  husband  had  married  in  New  York.  Imme- 
diately a  splendid  dinner  was  prepared  for  the  officers, 
with  all  manner  of  fruits  and  wines.  Mr.  Evarro,  upon 
arriving,  ordered  beeves  and  hogs  to  be  killed,  wood 
prepared  for  cooking,  and  every  thing  necessary  to  be 
got  ready  for  the  troops,  who  arrived  about  4  o'clock. 

Upon  the  colonel's  arrival,  he  found  a  handsomely 
furnished  room  fitted  uj)  for  his  occupancy,  and  rooms 
prepared  for  all  the  officers  who  could  occupy  them. 
We  were  entertained  with  a  late  but  sumptuous  dinner, 
afUiY  which  we  passed  a  very  pleasant  evening. 

The  mansion  and  its  surroundings  were  very  fine  : 
there  was  a  large  vineyard,  which  furnished  a  stock  of 
wines  and  brandies  ;  a  fine  orchard  of  orange-trees  and 
bananas,  and  many  other  tropical  fruits  ;  also  a  thou- 
sand acres  in  cultivation,  besides  an  extensive  stock> 
ranche.  There  was  a  village  adjoining  the  place,  of  some 
five  hundred  people,  most  of  whom  were  tenants  and 
in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Evarro.  Our  host  insisted  on 
Colonel  Doniphan's  laying  over  the  next  day,  as  the 


A    FESTIVE   REGIMENT.  155 

animals  and  men  were  nearly  worn  out  on  the  march, 
owing  to  tlie  heat  and  scarcity  of  water  in  that  country. 
The  colonel  gladly  consented.  About  10  o'clock,  alter 
the  officers  had  all  partaken  of  a  hearty  breakfast  and 
been  furnished  with  the  choicest  wines  and  cigars,  the 
whole  party  were  in  fine  spirits,  and  Mr.  Evarro  asked 
the  privilege  of  treating  the  whole  regiment,  and  the 
request  was  granted  by  Colonel  Doniphan  with  great 
pleasure.  In  front  of  the  mansion  was  a  grove  of  ash- 
trees.  Out  in  the  shade  of  these  were  rolled  four 
barrels  of  liquors,  being  old  wines  and  grape  brandies. 
Mr.  Evarro  informed  Colonel  Doniphan  that  there  was 
no  danger  of  any  surprise  from  the  ^lexicans,  as  all 
who  lived  about  there  were  quiet,  or  inclined  to  favor 
the  American  cause.  So  the  whole  regiment  went  in 
for  a  good  time.  The  barrels  were  placed  on  their  ends, 
the  heads  knocked  in,  and  a  supply  of  glasses  and 
cups  set  out  for  the  regiment,  when  they  were  marched 
up  by  companies  and  drank  freely.  I  had  got  wine 
enough  in  the  house,  but  drank  a  swallow,  out  of  com- 
pliment to  our  host ;  then  climbing  into  the  forks  of 
one  of  the  shade  trees,  I  was  amusing  myself  by  getting 
a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  festive  scene  beneath  me,  as  tile 
after  file  and  company  after  company  marched  to  the 
barrels,  drank  their  fill,  smacked  their  lips,  drank 
again,  and  then  went  off  to  lie  down  in  the  shade  of 
the  beautiful  grove,  thus  maldng  room  for  their  com- 
rades. 

The  Mexicans  had  driven  some  of  Mr.  Evarro' s  cattle 
into  a  corral  near  by,  in  order  to  take  from  it  such 
beeves  as  they  needed  to  kill  for  the  regiment.  Among 
them  was  a  very  wild  vicious  cow,  which,  for  safety, 
had  the  ends  of  her  horns  sawed  off.  As  they  com- 
menced butchering  near  the  corral,  lassoing  and  hauling 


156  MR.  mukpiiy's  big  drink. 

out  beast  after  beast,  tliis  cow,  smelling  the  blood,  be- 
came furious,  and,  jumping  the  fence,  made  with  all 
speed  straight  for  our  drinking  crowd.  There  was  a 
big  Irishman  named  Johnny  Murphy  standing  near 
one  of  the  barrels  of  liquor  with  Ms  back  to  the  cow, 
and  holding  up  a  glass  of  liquor.  He  had  just  com- 
menced a  toast  to  the  health  of  our  good  friend  and 
host,  Mr.  Evarro,  when  the  cow  caught  him  between 
the  legs  on  the  stumps  of  her  horns,  tossed  him  up, 
and  he  descended  head  foremost  into  the  barrel  of 
brandy,  which  was  about  half  full.  She  then  butted 
the  barrel  over,  with  Mr.  Murphy's  limbs  sticking  up 
out  of  it,  which  was  fortunate  for  him,  otherwise  he 
would  have  strangled.  The  troops  around,  though 
they  laughed  heartUy,  did  not  lOve  the  spilling  of 
so  much  good  liquor,  and,  drawing  their  revolvers, 
riddled  her  with  baUs,  killing  her  at  once.  PuUing  the 
frightened  Murphy  out  of  the  barrel,  it  was  some  time 
before  he  recovered  his  breath,  when  he  exclaimed: 
"By  the  holy  St.  Patrick!  it's  the  biggest  drink  of 
liquor  I  ever  had  in  my  life  !"  The  poor  fellow  was 
more  scared  than  hurt,  and  he  didn't  hear  the  last  of 
that  cow  till  his  term  of  service  expired  and  he  was  out 
of  Mexico. 

We  remained  at  this  place  till  the  next  morning,  en- 
joying ourselves  finely,  when  we  resumed  our  march 
for  Saltillo.  We  left  the  rescued  lady  with  Mrs. 
Evarro,  as  she  was  acquainted  with  her  family  in  Sal- 
tillo, and  would  send  her  there  as  soon  as  she  should 
be  able  to  travel. 

Two  days  after  leaving  Mr.  Evarro' s  we  arrived  at 
Buena  Vista  (Good  Sight),  a  plain  between  the  moun- 
tains, with  only  two  or  three  houses  in  sight,  and  distant 
from  Saltillo  three  or  four  miles.     It  had  deep  gulches 


\'^^ 

/ 

i!/' 'h  ii 

'■^!^.z:^ 

1  '\  \  '■ 

■'■  ^^oi 

K                 !'''■  '  '  1 

^\\  j  "^     1 

'N^'-'i  ^''^^ 

)      ^'ifi 

'1'    11  'l    ) 

S:^'-^ 

■  !      \ 

PvECEPTlON   OF   GEN.    WOOL.  157 

in  places,  but  tlien;  was  neither  brush,  sliru])b(*ry,  or 
rocks.  Here  we  laid  over  a  day,  awaiting  further 
orders. 

General  Wool,  who  was  quartered  on  the  Mexicans 
in  Saltillo  with  about  fifteen  hundred  troops,  came  out 
with  his  staff  to  see  Colonel  Doniphan.  The  troops 
were  ordered  in  line  to  receive  the  general.  It  was  an 
odd-looking  line,  for  no  two  were  dressed  alike.  Most 
of  them  were  in  buckskin  hunting-shirts  and  trowsers, 
and  many  had  their  trowsers'  legs  torn.  Some  were 
mounted  on  donkeys,  some  on  mustang  ponies,  and 
others  on  mules.  One  officer  on  Colonel  Doniphan  s 
staff  had  on  the  cap  ornamentc^d  with  feathers  and 
horns  taken  from  the  Indian  chief.  Colonel  Doniphan 
had  the  left  sleeve  nearly  torn  off  his  coat.  The  drill  of 
the  regiment  compared  very  favorably  with  its  uniform 
— as  they  had  not  the  least  idea  of  precision  in  any  of 
their  movements,  or  of  the  silence  which  is  expected  of 
regular  troops.  The  general  and  staff'  were  dressed 
handsomely.  He  pulled  his  feather-adorned  chapeau 
over  his  eyes,  and  turned  away  his  head,  smiling. 
Tlien  a  salute  to  the  general  was  fired  by  the  flying 
artilhn-y,  which  was  managed  with  mules.  The  general 
pronounced  the  troops  the  healthiest  looking  men  he 
had  seen  in  all  Mexico.  He  and  his  staff  dismounted 
and  went  to  Colonel  Doniphan  s  tent  to  partake  of 
some  refreshments.  While  in  the  colonel's  tent,  the 
general  was  startled  by  a  loud  report  in  the  rear  of  the 
tent.  He  started  to  his  feet,  and  inquired  of  the  colonel 
what  that  could  be,  and  was  much  surprised  when  he 
replied  that  he  thought  it  must  be  some  of  the  boys' 
foolery.  That  kind  of  ''foolery"  in  camp  was  some- 
thing new  to  the  general.  It  appeared,  on  inquiry, 
tliat  a  box  of  ball  cartridges,  for  the  artillery,  had  been 


158  GEN.    WOOL   AND    THE   SOLDIER. 

wet  and  the  powder  caked  hard,  so  that  they  were  con- 
sidered nseless.  These  had  been  taken  from  the  wagon 
and  thrown  in  a  pile  in  the  rear  of  the  tent,  and  near 
by  a  soldier,  called  "Dutch  John,"  was  cooking  his 
dinner.  He  threw  a  shovelful  of  live  coals  on  to  the 
cartridges  "just  to  see  if  they  would  go,"  as  he  said. 
He  found  out. 

After  dinner,  the  volunteers  gathered  around  to  see 
General  Wool,  talking  very  freely  with  the  colonel, 
some  of  them  calling  him  "colonel,"  some  "Doni- 
phan" simply,  while  others,  to  abbreviate  it,  called 
him  "Bill."  One  of  them  looking  straight  at  General 
"Wool,  said  : 

"  Old  man,  I  hearn  you  had  a  purty  d — d  tight  fight 
down  yander  somewhere," 

The  general's  adjutant  standing  by,  said : 

"Please  address  him  as  '  General ; '  that  is  his  title," 

"Wal,"  said  the  man,  looking  up  undauntedly  at 
the  adjutant,  "he  is  an  old  man,  I  reckon  he  can't 
deny  that," 

I  never  saw  such  a  set  of  men.  There  was  nothing 
on  tlie  face  of  the  earth,  or  in  the  depths  below,  that 
they  wouldn't  fight.  Colonel  Doniphan  thought  a 
great  deal  of  them,  chatting  familiarly  with  them  very 
often.  At  the  battle  of  Sacramento  his  battle  cry  v/as, 
^'-  Now,  hoys,  every  man  for  Ms  turJcey  P''  They  un- 
derstood that,  and  went  every  man  independently,  and 
the  result  was  the  Mexicans  were  soon  routed. 

Colonel  Doniphan  was  a  lawyer,  from  Clay  County, 
Missouri,  He  was  very  tall,  handsome,  and  well-made, 
with  a  rather  dark  complexion,  black  hair  and  black 
eyes,  and  always  shaved  clean. 

General  Wool  ordered  Colonel  Doniphan  to  turn  in 
all  his  cannon,  arms,  ammunition,  and  commissary 


BATTLIXHIOUND   OF   BUEXA    VISTA.  159 

stores  to  General  Taylor,  on  our  arrival  at  Monterey. 
He  tlien  took  Colonel  Doniphan,  myself,  and  a  number 
of  officers  to  the  battle-ground  of  Buena  Vista,  in 
which  General  Taylor  had  defeated  Santa  Anna  ov(t 
three  months  before.  There  were  some  skeletons  of 
Mexicans  and  of  animals  which  had  dried  up  on  the 
battle-held.  He  showed  us  where  the  Indiana  Posey 
County  men  had  run,  and  the  position  they  occupied 
when  Jeff  Davis  reformed  them  and  got  them  bat^k  to 
fighting.  General  Wool  also  showed  us  where  General 
Taylor  stood  at  the  time  of  the  battle,  and  where  he 
shook  hands  with  Jeff  Davis,  telling  him  he  now  con- 
sidered him  worthy  of  his  daughter  with  whom  lie  had 
eloped,  this  being  the  first  acknowledgment  of  the 
son-in-law  by  the  father.  General  Wool  also  told  us 
that  General  Taylor's  adjutant  had  twice  reported,  after 
riding  down  the  whole  length  of  the  line,  that  our 
troops  were  whipped.  '''' I  knoio  it^''''  General  Taylor 
had  replied  ;  "bnt  the  volunteers  don't  know  it.  Let 
them  alone,  and  see  what  they  will  do." 

The  general  and  staff  then  left  for  Saltillo,  and  we 
returned  to  our  camp. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

THE  day  following  our  visit  to  the  battle-field,  we 
marclied  to  Saltillo,  where  we  remained  two  days, 
after  which  we  went  on  to  Monterey,  about  thirty  miles 
distant,  starting  early  in  the  morning  and  arriving  then- 
late  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day.  General  Taylor 
was  encamped  about  a  mile  and  a  half  east  of  Mon- 
terey. 

Colonel  Doniphan  called  on  me  that  night  to  come  to 
his  tent.  He  showed  me  a  list  of  every  thing  to  be 
turned  over  to  General  Taylor.  The  list  embraced 
artillery,  wagons,  commissary  stores,  mules,  equip- 
ments, &c.  He  requested  me  to  go  and  carry  a  letter 
to  the  general,  that  he  might  be  prepared  to  receive 
every  thing  on  our  arrival.  I  started  next  morning  for 
the  general's  head-quarters,  and  found  a  lot  of  teams- 
ters hitching  up  some  wagons.  Noticing  a  white-haired, 
short,  thick- set,  common  looking  man,  without  uni- 
form, except  a  military  cap,  riding  a  fine  gray  horse 
about  among  the  wagons,  whom  I  took  for  a  wagon- 
master,  I  asked  him  if  he  could  tell  me  where  General 
Taylor's  tent  was.  He  said  it  was  just  around  a  point 
of  the  woods,  and  I  started  for  it.  He  rode  directly 
after  me,  inquiring  if  I  had  business  with  the  general. 
I  replied  that  I  had  a  letter  for  him.  He  looked  at  my 
bucksMn  hunting-shirt,  and  with  a  good-natured 
twinkle  in  his  eye,  said : 

"  I  suppose  you  belong  to  the  buckskin  regiment  of 
Colonel  Doniphan." 


llTA.nKL     AND     TOWN    OF     MOSTSHSY. 


-s^^-::^- 


'^^ 


BATTLS     OF     B  O  K  N  A.     Via. 


11 


REVIEWED    BY   GEN.  TAYLOIl.  IGl 

I  told  liim  I  did,  and  lie  said  he  was  the  man  I  was 
looking  for.  On  arriving  at  his  tent,  he  said  to  his 
mulatto  man,  "  Jeff,  get  out  the  bottle  of  brandy,  and 
fiy  some  ham  and  eggs.  This  fellow  looks  dry  and 
dusty,  and  has  come  a  long  ways."  The  general  sat 
down,  and,  pulling  out  my  papers,  I  gave  him  a  list  of 
the  things  to  be  turned  over  to  him,  and  a  letter  from 
Colon(4  Donii)han.  He  looked  at  them,  and  then, 
calling  his  orderly,  sent  for  the  quartermaster,  captain 
of  artillery,  and  a  wagon-master,  and  gave  them  orders 
to  receive  what  Colonel  Doniphan  was  bringing  to 
turn  over  to  them,  and  stated  that  the  colonel  would 
be  there  shortly.  Having  received  these  orders  the 
officers  retired. 

After  breakfasting  with  the  general,  we  mounted,  and 
started  to  meet  the  colonel  and  our  train,  which  was 
close  by.  I  introduced  the  colonel,  and  then  the  gen- 
eral went  along  toward  the  rear  of  the  train,  looking 
closely  at  everything,  especially  the  artillery,  of  which 
we  had  twenty -four  pieces,  eighteen  of  them  being 
captured  at  the  battle  of  Sacramento.  The  other  six 
were  llying-artillery  which  had  been  brought  around 
from  Fort  Leavenworth.  He  said  he  would  do  all  in 
liis  power  to  have  the  eighteen  pieces  that  we  captured 
presented  by  the  government  to  our  regiment.  It  was 
subsequently  done,  and  the  cannon  remained  in  St. 
Louis  until  the  opening  of  the  great  Rebellion. 

Doniphan's  regiment  were  sitting  on  their  donkeys, 
mules,  and  horses,  in  the  road,  under  the  delusion  that 
they  were  drawn  up  in  line.  The  general  passed  along 
the  line  with  his  handkerchief  to  his  face  to  hide  his 
smiles.  When  he  had  got  about  half-way  down  the 
line,  Dave  McCoy,  a  big,  long,  awkward-looking  Mis- 
sourian,  sitting  on  a  donke}',  cried  out : 


162  EXECUTIOX   OF    MEXICA^^^    GUERKILLA. 

"  Well,  old  man,  what  do  you  tliink  of  this  crowd  ? " 

This  broke  down  the  good-natured  general,  who  was 
trying  hard  to  maintain  his  gravity,  and  he  burst  into 
a  hearty  laugh. 

"  You  look  as  though  you  had  seen  hard  times,"  he 
remarked  to  McCoy. 

"  Youhet,""  was  McCoy's  reply. 

The  general  rode  slowly  on  his  return,  chatting  with 
Colonel  Doniphan,  and  went  on  to  where  the  men  were 
turning  in  the  military  property  from  Doniphan,  and 
asked  them  if  everything  had  been  received.  They 
said  it  had,  and  he  told  them  to  make  out  an  account 
of  it  so  he  could  give  a  receipt.  He  asked  Colonel 
Doniphan,  the  quartermaster,  m^^self,  and  one  or  two 
others  to  go  to  his  tent  and  partake  of  refreshments. 
Tliere  the  general  receipted  for  all  that  had  been  de- 
livered. 

Our  regiment  had  been  enlisted  for  six  months,  and 
they  had  served  three  months  and  more  over  their  time. 
We  were  ordered  to  march  to  Camargo,  on  our  route 
homeward.  We  marched  some  twelve  miles  that  day, 
arriving  at  a  small  ranche  where  we  encamped.  Next 
day,  at  noon,  we  reached  Seralvo,  where  there  was  an 
encampment  of  Texan  rangers.  They  had  just  come 
in  from  a  light  with  Mexican  guerrillas,  in  which  they 
had  killed  fifteen  and  captured  one,  and  we  stopped  an 
hour,  during  which  they  took  the  prisoner  out  and 
shot  him.  He  exhibited  good  pluck  ;  for,  after  calling 
for  a  priest  to  whom  he  made  confession,  he  put  a  cigar  in 
his  mouth,  stood  up  boldly  against  a  wall,  facing  with 
calm  eyes  those  who  shot  him. 

That  night  we  stopped  at  Mier,  near  the  Rio  Grande. 
It  was  here  that,  while  fighting  against  Mexico,  when 
Texas  was  struggling  for  independence,  some  Texan 


TEXAN   RANGERS.  1G3 

rangers  wore  cai)tured  by  tlie  Mexicans,  some  two  liun- 
dred  in  number.  TlK.^se  prisoners  were  taken  to  Mexico. 
On  the  road  to  Mexico  some  were  dragged  after  horses 
till  they  died.  The  remainder,  on  reaching  that  city, 
were  required  to  draw  a  life-and-death  lottery.  One 
bean  in  ten  was  black.  He  who  drew  tliis  was  sliot, 
and  the  others  were  sentenced  to  work  with  ball  and 
chain.  One  of  the  latter  was  with  our  troops.  Among 
these  Texan  rangers  was  a  young,  good-looking  man, 
Johnny  Lewis,  who  drew  a  black  bean.  While  stand- 
ing before  his  executioners,  waiting  to  receive  their  fire, 
a  handsome  Castilian  lady  about  his  own  age,  a  com- 
parative stranger  to  him,  stepped  in  front  of  him  and 
offered  the  officers  ten  thousand  dollars  for  the  young 
man,  which  proposition  was  accepted.  She  took  him 
away,  and,  as  her  parents  were  dead  and  she  very 
wealthy,  they  were  married  and  now  live  in  the  city  of 
Mexico.  To  those  poor  men  who  drew  white  beans 
and  were  working  on  the  streets,  this  lad}^  and  other 
Castilian  ladies  sent  provisions  and  blankets,  to  render 
them  more  comfortable  in  their  lodgings  in  the  castle 
of  Cliapultopec.  This  castle  is  partly  a  l)arracks  for 
soldiers,  and  partly  a  city  penitentiary.  It  was  an  old 
Spanish  castle,  built  very  strongly,  with  stonewalls  six 
or  eight  feet  thick,  and  cells  und<>r  ground. 

But  to  return  to  our  regiment.  From  ]\Iier  we 
marched  to  Camargo,  on  the  river.  Tliere  was  only 
one  small  boat  there,  and  Colonel  Doniphan,  who  was 
taken  sick,  went  aboard  with  a  few  soldiers  and  the 
rest  of  the  regiment  started  down  the  river  by  land  for 
Matamoras. 

About  ten  miles  from  Camargo  one  of  our  men,  who 
strayed  from  the  regiment  a  short  distance,  was  shot 
down   by  Mexican   guerrillas.      The    Shawnees  and 


164  SHOOTING    GUERRILLAS. 

twenty-five  or  thirty  men  were  detailed  to  follow  the 
guerrillas.  The  dead  man,  named  John  Wells,  who 
had  a  wife  and  four  children  in  Missouri,  was  placed  in 
a  wagon  and  taken  with  the  regiment.  We  buried  him 
about  ten  miles  below  at  Keinosa,  where  were  stationed 
some  two  hundred  of  General  Taylor' s  troops.  While 
eno-ao-ed  in  burying  our  comrade,  the  Shawnees,  who 
were  keen  on  the  trail,  and  whom  nothing  could  escape, 
returned  with  the  volunteers,  they  having  followed  the 
guerrillas  through  chaparral  and  thick  brush  and 
across  a  plain  to  a  ranche  where  they  captured  nine  of 
them.  They  found  their  horses  covered  with  sweat, 
and  one  of  the  guerrillas  had  the  ritie  of  the  dead  man. 
We  took  the  nine  Mexicans  for  trial  before  Captain 
Cook,  who  had  charge  of  this  place.  He  was  an  old- 
fashioned  soldier,  having  been  many  years  in  the  army. 
He  said  he  knew  these  Mexicans  as  they  had  brought 
beef  into  the  United  States  store-house  here.  He  ac- 
quitted all  but  the  man  with  whom  the  gun  was  found, 
and  he  was  ordered  under  arrest.  We  said  to  Captain 
Cook,   "All  right ;  turn  the  acquitted  men  loose." 

Not  one  of  these  men  got  four  hundred  yards  from 
the  depot.  We  were  satisfi(^d  witli  the  evidence  against 
them,  if  Captain  Cook  was  not.  The  tracking  of  them 
up,  the  sweating  horses,  and  the  gun  of  our  friend 
(whose  death  we  sincerely  mourned,  for  he  was  a  fine 
fellow),  was  strong  evidence  enough,  I  was  standing 
by  a  corner  of  the  fence  when  one  of  the  acquitted 
gueiTillas  came  riding  by.  I  shot  him,  Gabe  Allen 
shot  another,  and  the  Shawnees  shot  the  remainder. 
The  regiment  was  excited,  and  joined  with  us,  when 
we  went  down  to  the  guard-house,  took  out  the  remain- 
ing Mexican,  and  hung  him  to  a  tree  in  sight  of  Captain 
Cook.     The  captain  ran  out  to  defend  him,  when  our 


RESACA    DE    LA    PALMA.  IG.") 

boys  told  liim  lie  had  better  dry  np  ;  that  lie  liad 
struck  the  wrong  crowd,  and  tlie  best  thing  he  could 
do  would  be  to  leave,  or  the}^  would  hang  him  on  a 
tree. 

We  continued  our  march,  and  on  the  fourtli  day 
after  leaving  Reinosa  depot,  arrived  at  Matamoras, 
where  we  found  our  colonel,  who  had  improved  in 
health.  AVe  reported  what  Ave  had  done  to  those  INIex- 
icans.  He  said  he  had  got  a  horrible  letter  fiom 
Captain  Cook,  calling  us  assassins,  and  giving  a  dread- 
ful account  of  our  proceedings.  We  (explained,  stating 
all  thecucumstances  in  full,  just  as  they  occurred,  and 
then  the  colonel  wrote  a  letter  to  Captain  Cook,  ex- 
pressing his  regret  that  the  regiment  had  not  liung 
him  too. 

We  remained  in  Matamoras  four  days,  and  the  day 
before  leaving  on  our  journey.  Colonel  Doniphan,  who 
wanted  to  see  the  battle-ground  of  Resaca  de  la  Pal  ma, 
where  General  La  Yega  was  captured,  invited  Gabe 
Allen,  myself,  and  some  others  to  accompany  him. 
We  went,  and  looked  at  the  palm-tree  grove  from  which 
that  portion  of  the  battle-ground  derives  its  name. 
Many  of  the  trees  w^ere  cut  down  by  cannon-balls. 
Thence  we  went  to  the  ranche  near  by,  called  Palo 
Alto,  wherv^  the  batth^  commenced.  Colonel  Doniphan 
sketched  down  a  plan  of  the  battle-tield,  and  we  re- 
turned. From  the  point  of  attack  at  Palo  Alto,  tlic 
Mexicans  had  retreated  and  fought  for  four  miles  to  the 
place  where  La  Vega  was  taken.  He  was  a  l)rave  and 
talented  officer,  and  left  ^lexico  to  n^side  in  the  United 
States,  when  the  war  was  conclud<'d. 

On  our  return  to  Matamoras.  complaint  was  made 
against  a  soldier  named  Elijah  Mann  for  drunkenn(*ss, 
worthlessness,  and  theft.     TIk^  colonel  issued  an  order 


166  ARKIVAL    AT    NEW   ORLEAXS. 

for  (Irunniiiiig  liiiii  out  of  camp.  He  was  accordingly 
luarclied  out  behind  a  drum  and  iife,  playing  "  Tiie 
Rogue's  March,"  and  the  ceremony  completed  with  a 
kick. 

The  next  day  our  mules  and  horses  were  all  put 
across  the  Rio  Grande  into  Brownsville,  whence  the 
animals  were  to  be  taken  through  Texas  and  the  Indian 
territory  to  Missouri,  with  an  escort  of  lifty  men,  be- 
sides the  eight  Shawnees.  We  then  started  for  Brazos 
Island,  eighteen  miles  below,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
Grande,  there  to  take  vessels  for  New  Orleans.  Most 
of  the  regiment  Avent  down  in  boats.  The  remainder 
were  transported  in  government  wagons  and  ambu- 
lances. We  arrived  at  Brazos  Island  the  same  after- 
noon. An  old  government  boat  lying  there  was  used 
as  a  hotel,  and  there  were  a  few  frame  houses. 

Tlie  second  day  after  our  arrival,  the  regiment,  with 
their  arms,  blankets,  &c.,  Avere  embarked  on  three 
schooners  for  New  Orleans.  Two  of  the  schooners  ar- 
rived at  the  light-house,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi, 
the  seventh  day  after ;  tlie  third  vessel  made  the  light 
the  next  day.  We  were  taken  in  tow  by  a  steam -tug 
and  soon  arrived  at  New  Orleans.  Our  barracks,  near 
the  depot  of  the  Lake  Pontchartrain  railroad,  were 
ready  for  us,  and  we  proceeded  thither. 

Colonel  Doniphan  was  warmly  received  in  New 
Orleans.  He  was  placed  in  a  carriage  with  ladies,  and 
escorted  to  the  St.  Charles  Hotel  by  the  military  and 
fire  companies.  The  pleasing  ceremony  of  paying  off 
the  regiment  was  the  next  thing  in  order.  They  were 
all  paid  for  the  entire  time  of  over  nine  months  they 
had  been  in  service,  and  were  allowed  mileage  to  take 
them  home.  An  invitation  was  received  from  Colonel 
Doniphan  for  the  regiment  to  meet  him  the  next  day  in 


A   MASQUEllADE    BAM..  167 

a  largo  hall  for  the  purpose?  of  hearing  a  parting  speecli 
and  liaving  a  final  interview  together.  Tliat  evening, 
the  men,  having  received  their  pay,  threw  away  their 
old  buckskin  suits,  got  washed  and  properly  barbered 
up,  i)ut  on  new  suits,  appeared  once  more  in  style  on 
the  streets. 

Gabe  Allen,  myself,  and  about  twenty-live  others 
went  to  a  masquerade  ball  in  the  Third  Municipality 
Market  Hall,  a  large  three-story  building  close  by  tlie 
depot  of  Lake  Pontchartrain  railroad.  AVe  all  took  our 
knives  and  pistols.  The  doorkeeper  said  we  must  leave 
them  with  him  till  the  ball  was  over,  and  that  we  ought 
to  wear  masks,  &c.  We  told  him  that  was  played  out. 
AYe  preferred  to  appear  in  our  true  character  with  our 
arms  with  us.  He  said  it  was  against  the  law,  but  w^e 
replied  that  we  had  a  law  of  our  own,  and  as  we  had 
tickets  we  pushed  the  doorkeeper  aside  and  went  up 
into  the  hall  where  they  were  dancing.  Tln^re  were  a 
great  many  hackmen  and  cab-drivers  in  the  hall,  and 
what  were  called  the  "Sidney  Ducks  of  New  Or- 
leans." About  12  o'clock  there  was  a  "row"  raised 
by  the  rouglis,  who  felt  aggriev(^d  by  tli(^  marked  favor 
with  which  our  party  was  looked  upon  by  the  i'air  sex. 
During  the  fracas  one  of  the  cab-drivers  was  thrown 
headforemost  out  of  the  window.  The  hall  was  soon 
cleared  of  the  troublesonu^  ones,  and  all  promised  to 
be  quiet.  Soon  after,  two  policenu'n  appc^ared  and  very 
quietly  entered  the  hall,  and  immediately  found  them- 
selves locked  in.  We  told  them  it  was  impossible  for 
them  to  take  any  of  lis  out,  or  to  get  out  themselves— 
so  they  might  as  well  accept  the  situation  and  enjoy 
themselves.  This  they  proceeded  to  do,  and  at  the  end 
of  an  hour  were  in  as  bad  a  condition  as  the  liddlers 
and  most  of  the  dancers.     The  ball  closed  about  4 


108 


PAYING   POLICEMEN  S   FINE. 


o'clock,  when  we  left,  taking  tlie  policemen  with  us. 
The  next  morning  they  were  arraigned  for  not  arresting 
the  whole  party  and  fined  ten  dollars.  As  we  knew 
they  did  the  best  they  could,  under  the  circumstances, 
we  did  not  wish  them  to  suffer  on  our  account,  and  so 
paid  their  fines,  and  they  departed  with  a  severe  re- 
primand. 


CHAPTEE  X. 

IT  was  now  time  for  the  regiment  to  assemble  for  the 
last  time  in  the  hall,  to  hear  the  parting  words  of 
our  beloved  colonel.  After  we  had  been  in  the  hall 
some  time,  the  colonel  arrived,  accompanied  by  the 
proprietor  of  the  St.  Charles  Hotel,  the  Mayor  of  the 
city,  other  distinguished  ix'rsons,  and  the  iiremen. 
After  taking  the  stand,  the  colonel  looked  over  the 
crowd,  and  said : 

"I'm  not  certain  whether  these  are  my  men  or  not. 
They  look  very  differently  from  their  yesterday' s  ap- 
pearance ;  and  the  fact  is,  as  I  have  a  new  coat,  I  am 
not  sure  that  I  know  myself," 

Tliis  sally  was  received  with  roars  of  laughter  ;  but, 
continuing  his  speech,  he  thanked  them  for  their  valu- 
able services,  their  uniform  good  conduct  on  the  march, 
in  camp,  or  in  the  tight ;  for  no  men  could  be  braver, 
or  more  obedient.  He  expressed  his  regrets  at  the  dis- 
banding of  the  regiment,  but  as  they  had  successfully 
accomplished  their  mission,  it  was  now  time  for  them 
to  return  to  their  liomes  and  liimilies.  Towards  the 
conclusion  of  his  eloquent  and  pathetic  speech,  which 
brought  the  moisture*  to  all  ej'cs,  he  took  occasion  to 
pay  a  high  compliment  to  me,  stating  that  my  map  of 
the  Mexican  position  at  Sacramento  w^as  of  great  value 
to  him,  and  that  I  had  been  serviceable  in  so  many 
ways  that  the  government  ^A•as  under  strong  obligations 
to  me.     At  the  conclusion  of  the  speech,  he  stated  that 


170  PRESENT   FROM   THE   QUARTERMASTER. 

tlie  next  day,  at  ten  o'clock,  two  government  boats 
would  leave  for  St.  Louis  and  Independence,  Missouri, 
and  he  lioped  all  tlie  men  would  be  ready  to  accompa- 
ny him  home.  That  evening,  the  theater  would  be  free 
for  the  entrance  of  himself  and  his  regiment,  by  spe- 
cial invitation,  and  he  hoped  all  would  attend.  After 
other  kindly  words  and  good  advice  from  the  mayor, 
and  one  or  two  distinguished  citizens,  the  hall  being 
lilk'd  with  spectators, —  many  of  them  the  first  ladies 
of  the  city, — the  soldiers  received  many  hearty  shakes 
of  the  hand  and  friendly  congratulations,  and  an  hour 
or  two  of  delightful  intercourse  passed  c[uickly  away. 
Just  before  the  assemblage  dispersed,  the  quarteraias- 
ter  stationed  at  New  Orleans  came  to  me  and  asked  me 
to  step  around  with  him  to  his  office,  where  he  paid  me 
eiglit  hundred  dollars  for  my  services,  saying  he  would 
risk  getting  it  allowed  to  him.  (The  government  after- 
wards allowed  it  to  liim  on  his  pay-roll.)  This  was  a 
present,  and  was  in  addition  to  my  pay  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  a  month  as  interpreter  and  spy,  or 
scout- 
When  night  came  the  streets  were  illuminated,  the 
regiment,  without  arms,  foi-med  in  procession,  with  the 
firemen  on  each  side,  and  Colonel  Doniphan  with  the 
mayor  and  principal  citizens  in  advance  in  carriages, 
and  thus  marched  from  the  St.  diaries  Hotel  to  the 
St.  Charles  Theater,  taking  a  circuit  around  one  or  two 
squares  for  display.  The  stage  was  arranged  for 
Stickney's  Circus  in  the  early  part  of  the  evening, 
after  which  it  was  raised,  when  Booth  concluded  the 
performance  wit,h  Richard  the  Third.  The  whole  enter- 
tainment lasted  from  nine  o'clock  till  midnight.  The 
next  morning  every  man  was  at  the  boats. 
I  intended  to  remain  at  New  Orleans  vdth  my  uncle. 


DEPAllTUUE   OF   THE   REGIMENT.  171 

Going  on  board  the  ))out  on  wliicli  my  brotlicr  was  em- 
barlving,  I  deliveivd  to  liim  tliu  receipt  given  ni«^  hy 
General  Santa  Anna  for  the  property  seized  by  tlie 
Mexican  government.  Colonel  Doniphan  told  me  that 
after  a  short  visit  among  his  Missouri  friends,  lie 
should  go  to  Washington,  to  report  in  full  his  opera- 
tions in  Mexico.  I  told  him  I  should  depend  on  him  to 
get  the  receii)t  placed  legally  among  the  claims  against 
Mexico,  lie  promised  to  do  so,  and  afterwards  i)er- 
formed  his  duty,  to  my  entire  satisfaction,  so  that  my 
brother  drew  the  money,  not  without  considerable  de- 
lay, however,  as  Mexico  was  backward  about  paying 
claims  of  that  nature. 

Before  leaving  on  the  boat.  Colonel  Doniphan  and 
Lieutenant  Lee  each  gave  me  a  llattering  letter  to  the 
quartermaster-general  at  New  Orleans,  commending 
my  services  performed  for  the  United  States. 

As  the  boats  steamed  away  np  the  river,  leaving  me 
among  comparative  strangers,  and  separating  me  from 
officers  and  men  whose  society  had  been  very  agree- 
able and  pleasant,  I  retraced  my  steps  to  the  St. 
Charles  IIot(4  with  no  very  comfortable  reflections.  In 
my  last  interview  with  my  brother  on  the  boat,  I  de- 
clined to  accompany  him  home,  but  instructed  him  to 
report  to  my  friends,  both  my  good  and  bad  luck  in 
Mexico,  and  my  connection  with  the  regiment,  &c. 

Having  a  desire  to  visit  my  uncle,  whom  I  had  not 
seen  since  my  childhood,  I  went  around  to  the  qiuirter- 
master-general"  s  office,  left  my  lettm-s,  and  drew  out 
my  mon(^y  which  I  had  deposited  with  him,  amount- 
ing to  twenty-five  hundred  dollars.  Tie  told  me  he 
should  probnbly  soon  stand  in  need  of  my  services  if  I 
wanted  another  berth.  I  got  a  carriage,  and  went 
down  to  my  uncle,  Henry  Hobbs,  with  my  money,  and 


172  VISIT   TO   MY    UNCLE. 

asked  liim  if  lie  would  be  so  kind  as  to  take  care  of 
that  money  for  me,  not  letting  liim  know  who  I  was. 
He  had  been  there  many  years,  with  a  cotton  press, 
and  become  wealthy  in  the  business.  He  took  the 
money  and  put  it  in  the  safe,  and  as  I  started  to  go 
out,  he  said, —  "  Sir,  you  had  better  take  something  to 
show  that  you  have  left  this  money  with  me."  I  told 
him  that  I  needed  nothing.  He  looked  at  me  in 
amazement. 

After  enjoying  eight  days  of  uninterrupted  pleasure 
and  excitement,  I  went  down  to  my  uncle's  office  and 
told  liim  who  I  was.  He  said  he  thought  it  very  singu- 
lar that  a  stranger  should  come  and  leave  that  amount 
of  money, — twenty -five  hundred  dollars, — and  take 
no  receipt.  He  told  me  to  cut  up  no  more  pranks  with 
him  to  test  his  honesty,  or  he  should  pay  me  off  in  my 
own  coin.  I  rehearsed  to  him  my  adventures  and 
wandering  experience,  and  the  result  was  that  I  had 
to  stay  at  his  house  three  weeks,  visiting,  having  a 
splendid  time,  and  going  with  the  family  somewhere 
every  evening. 

About  this  time.  General  Taylor  arrived  in  New 
Orleans,  from  Mexico.  Tlie  unexampled  success  of 
our  raw  volunteers  and  unpracticed  regulars,  in  fight- 
ing the  flower  of  the  Mexican  army,  under  the  lead  of 
Old  Zack,  had  created  a  furore  of  excitement  in  this 
country.  The  day  of  his  arrival  in  the  city  was  a  gala 
day  for  New  Orleans.  He  landed  in  the  Third  Munici- 
pality, just  above  the  market,  with  no  accompanying 
troops,  nor  escort,  except  his  staff.  Salutes  were  fired 
as  he  came  up  the  river.  When  he  landed,  he  was 
met  by  the  mayor,  principal  citizens,  and  all  the  mili- 
tary and  firemen  of  the  city.  A  procession  was  form- 
ed, and  he  was  escorted  to  the  St.  Charles  Hotel.     The 


''^'C-^O/^d^ 


GENERAL   TAYI.OIl   AT   NEW   ORLEANS.  173 

crowd  to  see  liiiu  was  so  great  ou  the  low,  flat,  market 
roof,  tJiat  it  fell  in,  impaling  one  man  by  the  chin  on  a 
biitcliers  hook,  and  injuring  several  persons  severel}'. 

While  th(3  procession  was  moving,  the  general  saw 
a  soldier  whom  he  had  sent  home  with  an  amputated 
leg,  standing  in  the  crowd  with  his  crutch.  The  gene- 
ral at  once  ordered  the  carriage  stopped,  and  took  the 
crippled  soldier  into  the  carriage  with  him,  saying  he 
was  his  kind  of  man.  He  afterwards  took  him  to  the 
hot<'l,  and  arranged  for  him  to  get  a  pension. 

Tlie  general's  negro,  Jeff,  was  mounted  on  Old 
Zaclv  s  favorite  white  horse,  which  horse  had  been 
wounded  several  times.  This  faithful  mulatto  servant 
had  been  all  through  the  Florida  war,  and  saved  Gen- 
eral Taylor  s  life  on  one  or  two  occasions  ;  and,  when 
the  general  died,  it  was  found  that,  hy  his  will,  this 
servant  inherited  a  liberal  share  of  the  property. 

That  night  the  city  was  brilliantly  illuminated,  and 
grand  flre-works  lit  up  the  public  squares.  There  were 
also  two  ships  anchored  in  the  river,  opposite  each 
other,  that  blazed  all  over  in  gaudy  colors,  every  out- 
line of  hull,  mast,  and  spar,  glowing  in  Are,  while  the 
noise  of  mutual  bombardment,  and  the  bursting  of 
shells  in  brilliant  colors  of  flying  stars,  showed  the 
semblance  of  war.  Another  flery  scene  re})resented 
the  words — "Live  Zachaky  Taylor  forever." 

From  the  hotel  the  general  and  staff  w(^nt  to  tlie  St. 
Charles  Thi^ater,  accompanied  by  a  host  of  friends. 
The  performance  was  similar  to  that  when  Colonel 
Doniphan  was  there.  Dan  Rice  played  Clown,  and 
during  the  play  he  asked  the  ringmaster  if  he  knew 
why  the  city  dandies  of  New  Orleans  were  like  the 
Mexican  army.  The  answer  was  that  they  ran  from 
the  Taylor. 

12 


174  START  FOR  VERA   CRUZ. 

The  general  remained  four  days  in  New  Orleans, 
and  then  started  for  home.  The  yellow  fever  was 
raging  in  New  Orleans,  and  I  had  a  slight  touch  of  the 
disease.  As  soon  as  I  got  strong  enough,  I  concluded 
to  go  up  the  river  to  Missouri,  and  see  my  friends  and 
relatives.  When  I  went  to  the  quartermaster-general 
to  bid  him  good-bye,  he  said  he  had  been  inquiring  for 
me  three  or  four  days,  to  take  charge  of  a  vessel  load- 
ed with  mules  to  be  taken  to  General  Worth' s  division, 
at  Vera  Cruz.  I  told  him  I  was  hardly  able,  but 
would  try  it.  There  were  ninety- five  mules,  and 
twenty -five  teamsters  to  be  taken.  The  day  after  my 
interview  with  him,  I  received  my  rations  and  forage, 
and  started  for  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  I 
carried  a  letter  of  orders,  instructing  me  to  report,  im- 
mediately on  my  arrival  at  Vera  Cruz,  and  deliver  the 
property  under  my  charge,  to  Quartermaster  Maston. 
In  twelve  hours  after  leaving  New  Orleans  I  was  out  at 
sea.  The  second  day,  the  teamsters  reported  to  me 
that  they  could  not  eat  their  rations  of  weevil  bread 
and  stinking  meat.  I  examined  the  provisions  and 
found  them  to  be  as  they  stated.  Knowing  that  I  had 
sound  provisions  on  the  vessel,  I  asked  the  steward  for 
an  explanation.  He  replied:  "The  captain  bought 
some  damaged  provisions  from  the  government,  and  he 
is  putting  them  on  your  men  and  saving  those  furnish- 
ed, for  himself."  I  then  kicked  in  the  head  of  a  barrel 
of  fresli  crackers,  and  opened  a  barrel  each  of  beef,  pork, 
and  Trickles,  and  told  the  steward  to  serve  out  these 
provisions  to  the  men.  Turning  to  the  mate,  I  asked 
the  meaning  of  these  proceedings,  and  he  referred  me 
to  the  captain.  I  went  to  that  officer  and  told  him  I 
wanted  no  more  of  that  conduct  towards  my  men. 
Sound  provisions  had  been  provided  for  the  men,  and 


REPOKTING.  175 

it  was  my  duty  to  see  that  tliey  got  them.  He  became 
very  angry,  and  said  I  had  better  take  charge  of  the 
vessel,  and  that  he  would  report  me  at  Vera  Cruz.  I 
told  him  to  go  ahead ;  we  would  see  whose  report 
would  be  relied  upon.  I  ate  on  deck  afterwards  with 
the  teamsters,  and  fared  better  than  the  captain. 

The  thircl  day  out  we  had  a  severe  gale,  which  lasted 
twelve  hours,  with  such  severity  that  I  expected  it 
would  be  necessary  to  reduce  the  topheaviness  of  the 
vessel  by  throwing  the  mules  overboard.  The  storm 
abated,  however,  and  on  the  eighth  day  after  leaving 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  we  arrived  safely  at  Vera 
Cruz,  with  no  damage  except  the  severe  rubbing  of  our 
mules  against  the  stalls,  caused  b}"  the  rollmg  of  the 
vessel. 

The  captain  immediately  lowered  his  boat  and  went 
ashore  to  report  me,  giving  me  no  chance  to  go  in  the 
boat.  I  hired  a  boat  and  followed  to  report  to  the 
quartermaster  my  arrival  with  the  men  and  property. 
When  I  arrived  at  the  quartermaster's  department  I 
found  the  captain  standing  in  the  office  reporting  me  ! 
I  took  out  my  oi'ders  and  requested  the  quartermaster 
to  send  out  a  steamer  to  bring  ashore  the  teamsters  and 
mules,  the  latter  being  in  bad  condition,  owing  to  the 
rubbing  and  chafing  caused  by  the  storm.  As  far  as 
the  captain  was  concerned,  I  would  attend  to  his  case 
afterwards. 

'"Captain,"  said  the  quartermaster,  "here  are  this 
man's  orders ;  he  has  charge  of  all  the  water,  provis- 
ions, and  forage.  Did  he  go  outside  of  this  to  inter- 
fere with  your  vessel  V 

"Yes,"  replied  the  captain,  "he  put  on  a  good 
many  airs." 

"Mr.  Maston,"  said  I,  "let  me  have  the  order  to  get 


176  BREAKING   MULES. 

my  mules  off  tlie  vessel,  and  I  will  come  to-morrow 
moniiiig,  with  my  witnesses,  and  attend  to  the  captain's 
case." 

The  quartermaster  gave  me  the  order;  I  saw  the 
captain  of  the  steamer,  who  brought  ashore  the  men 
and  mules,  and  by  sunset  the  animals  were  all  well 
cared  for,  and  the  men  provided  with  quarters. 

The  next  morning  I  called  on  the  mate  and  steward 
to  come  around  to  the  quartermaster' s  office  with  me, 
when  I  proved,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  quarter- 
master, that  I  had  done  my  duty.  Then  said  I  (as 
Captain  Smith  of  the  vessel  was  present),  "Mr.  Maston, 
as  the  captain  has  gone  so  far,  I  will  go  further.  I 
don't  think  he  is  capable  of  taking  charge  of  a  vessel, 
on  account  of  his  constant  intoxication.  If  it  had  not 
been  for  the  mate,  the  vessel  would  have  been  lost." 

The  quartermaster  then  told  the  captain  he  had  no 
more  use  for  him.  If  he  had  anything  aboard,  he  or- 
dered him  to  bring  it  ashore,  and  he  directed  the  mate 
to  take  charge  of  the  vessel. 

The  quartermaster  told  me  that  as  soon  as  my  mules 
got  rested,  I  was  to  take  them,  with  my  teamsters,  and 
twelve  wagons,  and  break  them  to  work.  This  was  to 
be  done  on  the  beach,  and  this  very  comical  labor  I 
commenced  on  the  fourth  day  after  arriving  at  Vera 
Cruz.  About  the  time  of  my  arrival  at  Vera  Cruz, 
General  Scott,  having  captured  Mexico  and  conquered 
a  peace,  was  recalled  to  the  United  States,  and  I  began 
to  fear  that  my  military  seiTices  would  soon  have  an 
end. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ABOUT  this  time,  December,  1847,  peace  was  de- 
clared between  the  United  States  and  Mexico, 
and  orders  issued  for  the  withdrawal  of  our  forces  from 
the  country.  After  about  two  weeks  patient  labor,  I 
had  got  my  mules  so  they  would  work,  and  had  a  train 
of  twelve  wagons  made  up.  A  little  incident  now  oc- 
curred which  made  an  important  opening  for  me. 
Captain  Emory,  of  Mississippi,  who  was  wagonmaster 
for  all  the  trains  between  Vera  Cruz  and  the  city  of 
Mexico,  for  the  divisions  of  Generals  Scott  and  Worth, 
had  sold  two  wagons  and  two  six-mule  teams  belong- 
ing to  the  United  States  government,  and  appropriated 
the  money  to  his  own  use.  General  Twiggs  ascertain- 
ed the  facts,  and  sent  him  to  the  United  States  in  irons. 
This  left  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  head  wagonmaster. 
Train  inspection  was  ordered  on  the  beach,  by  Gene- 
ral Twiggs,  of  five  trains  which  were  wanted  to  go  to 
tlic  city  of  Mexico,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  pro- 
visions to  all  the  stations  on  the  road,  and  bringing  to 
Vera  Cruz,  on  the  return  trip,  all  the  baggage  and 
equipments  of  General  Worth's  division.  My  train  of 
twelve  wagons  was  drawn  up  on  the  beach,  at  the  head 
of  the  other  four  trains.  General  Twiggs  rode  out 
on  the  beach,  for  inspection,  in  company  with  Quarter- 
master Maston.  Riding  up  to  my  train,  he  inquired 
who  was  the  wagonmaster  there.  I  replied  that  I  was. 
Said  he:  "Of  course  you  have  a  jack-screw,  and  I 
wish  you  to  take  a  wagon  wheel  off,  to  see  whether  your 


178  APPOINTED   nEAD   WAGONMASTEK. 

axles  are  greased,  sir."  Tliis  was  soon  done,  and  find- 
ing my  wagon  axle  greased,  and  noticing  that  every- 
thing was  in  good  order,  he  pronounced  my  train  all 
right.  I  then  rode  with  the  general  to  my  twelfth 
wagon.  I  told  him  it  was  my  last  wagon,  and  the  rest 
belonged  to  different  trains.  The  train  adjoining  mine 
was  made  up  with  mustang  mules,  whose  backs  were 
sore  from  their  harness  not  being  properly  fitted,  and 
the  wagon  covers  were  torn.  He  ordered  the  wagon- 
master  to  take  off  a  wheel,  and  finding  the  axle  dry, 
he  was  very  indignant.  The  general,  who  was  a  regu- 
lar martinet,  then  continued  his  inspection  till  he  had 
examined  all  the  trains,  finding  none  of  them  satisfac- 
tory ;  when  he  returned  to  the  head' of  the  train,  where 
I  was  sitting  on  my  horse,  and  said : 

"Colonel  Maston  tells  me  you  have  letters  of  recom- 
mendation from  Colonel  Doniphan's  regiment, — that 
buckskin  crowd  !  I  lack  a  head  wagonmaster,  and  I 
wish  you  to  take  charge  of  these  five  trains  for  a  trip 
to  the  city  of  Mexico.  You  find  a  man  to  take  charge 
of  your  train,  and  then  report  to  Quartermaster  Maston, 
who  will  give  you  your  general  orders." 

I  went,  after  inspection,  to  my  camping  place,  and 
selecting  one  of  my  teamsters,  named  William  Sharp, 
who  had  come  from  New  Orleans  with  me,  put  him  in 
charge  of  my  train,  and  hired  another  man  as 
teamster  in  his  place,  then  reported  the  changes  thus 
made  to  Colonel  Maston,  giving  their  names,  &c.,  and 
told  him  I  awaited  his  orders.  General  Twiggs,  who 
was  in  the  office,  was  very  social,  and  asked  me  a  great 
many  questions  about  Colonel  Doniphan's  travels  and 
his  regiment ;  and,  said  he :  "You  've  got  a  hard  set 
of  wagonmasters  to  deal  with.  They  have  been  used 
to  dealing  with  a  miserable  thief,  whom  I  have  sent 


LEAVE   VEKA   CltUZ   FOR   MEXICO.  179 

home.     In  govornmcnt  affairs  we  must  be  very  strict, 
and  must  accom})lisli  orders  at  all  hazards,  sir." 

He  directed  me  to  get  every  thing  necessary  to  fit  up 
the  train,  from  Colonel  Maston,  and  undergo  a  general 
examination ;  tlit.*n  report  to  him,  and  lie  would  give 
me  an  escort  of  fifty  men,  who  would  obey  all  m}^ 
orders.  Colonel  Maston  selected  an  ofl[icer  to  go  with 
me  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  wagonmasters,  and  present 
me  to  them  as  head  wagonmaster ;  after  which  I  re- 
quested each  wagonmaster  to  go  through  his  train, 
examine  it  thoroughly,  and  find  out  what  was  neces- 
sary to  put  them  in  condition.  Some  Avanted  wagon 
covers,  others  lacked  harness,  and  some  wanted  black- 
smith work.  Tliese  matt(n-s  were  attended  to,  all 
needful  supplies  furnished,  and  the  next  day  we  load- 
ed up  with  provisions  and  forage,  with  orders  to  leave 
certain  specified  quantities  at  each  station  from  Vera 
Cruz  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  for  the  use  of  General 
Worth's  returning  division.  Then  rejiorting  to  Gene- 
ral Twiggs  that  I  was  all  ready  for  the  trip,  he  called 
an  officer,  directing  him  to  take  fifty  men  and  go  with 
my  trains  to  see  them  safe  through,  and  compel  obedi- 
ence to  my  orders  from  the  men  under  my  charge. 

The  day  folio win^^  we  started  on  our  way^  traveling 
slowly,  and  camping  at  a  station  called  Santa  Fe, 
about  twelve  miles  from  Vera  Cruz.  There  I  left  what 
provisions  and  forage  were  necessarj^  as  per  order. 
The  second  night  we  camped  and  left  supplies  at  San 
Juan,  a  place  belonging  to  General  Santa  Anna,  where 
a  small  American  force  was  camped.  The  third  night, 
at  Plan  del  Eio,  where  Santa  Anna  lilew  up  a  brido-(^ 
to  obstruct  General  Scoffs  march,  thus  gaining  time 
in  fortifying  at  the  battle  ground  of  Cerro  Gordo.  The 
fourth  evening  we  camped  at  the  ^N'ational  Bridge,  and 


180  FIELD   OF   CEIIRO   GORDO. 

at  eacli  station  left  provisions  and  forage.  After  trav- 
eling a  few  miles,  the  morning  we  left  tlie  National 
Bridge,  we  discovered  a  dismounted  twenty-four 
pounder  cannon  in  the  road,  and  near  it,  many  bones 
and  skulls  ;  also,  fragments  of  clothing,  &c.  Tliis  was 
the  field  of  Cerro  Gordo ;  and  Captain  Wilson,  who 
commanded  my  escort,  having  been  in  that  battle, 
showed  me  the  positions  of  the  contending  forces; 
also,  where  General  Worth  had  drawn  up  his  artillery 
over  a  rough  mountain  side  covered  with  brush,  and 
too  steep  for  animals.  At  this  place  a  road  was  cut 
through  the  brush,  men  scaled  the  steep  mountain  a 
distance  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  or  more,  and 
drew  up  the  cannon  by  ropes,  requiring  a  force  of  two 
hundred  men  to  each  piece.  When  daylight  appear- 
ed, General  AVorth  had  flanked  the  Mexicans  and  had 
his  cannon  planted  and  frowning  in  their  faces,  while 
General  Scott  was  upon  them  in  the  rear.  Santa  Anna 
was  surprised  and  defeated  ;  escaping  in  disguise  by 
wearing  only  his  drawers  and  shirt,  while  another 
officer,  wearing  a  uniform,  was  eagerly  pursued  and 
taken  prisoner  under  the  impression  that  it  was  Santa 
Anna.  Captain  Wilson  also  showed  me  a  precipice  of 
a  hundred  feet,  over  which  many  of  the  panic-stricken 
Mexicans  threw  themselves. 

The  fifth  night  we  arrived  at  a  small  station  called 
Toluca,  supplying  the  station  ;  and  the  following  eve- 
ning found  us  at  Jalapa,  which  is  quite  a  city,  where  a 
force  of  American  troops  were  stationed,  for  the  se- 
(;urity  of  trains  between  Vera  Cruz  and  Mexico.  Here, 
ylso,  we  left  supplies.  This  region  has  a  delightful 
climate,  and  is  rich  in  coffee,  oranges,  and  bananas. 

We  next  camped  at  Perote  ;  then  at  a  small  village 
where    fancy   Mexican    spurs,    saddles,   bridles,   and 


ARRIVAL   AT  MEXICO.  181 

knives  are  made ;  and  tlu^  night  after  at  the  city  of 
PucbUi.  There  we  found  live  hundred  of  our  men  sta- 
tioned, who  were  greatly  relieved  by  the  stores  we  left 
them.  Tlie  next  station  to  be  furnished  was  Rio  Frio, 
at  tlie  Sierra  Madre  (Motlier  Mountain) ;  tlien  Pinal 
Blanco,  six  miles  from  Mexico,  where  we  left  tlie  last  of 
our  loads,  and  arrived,  with  our  wagons  perfectly  empty, 
in  the  city  of  Mexico  in  twelve  days  from  Vera  Cruz. 

After  I  had  encamped  my  trains  in  the  city,  I  took 
my  letters  from  General  Twiggs  and  repaired  to  Gene- 
ral Worth,  to  report  my  arrival.  He  gave  me  a  requi- 
sition on  the  quartermaster-general  for  all  provisions, 
forage,  &c.,  needed  by  my  train,  and  informed  me  that 
he  should  not  be  able  to  close  up  his  official  business  so 
as  to  leave  in  less  than  eight  days.  He  immediately 
issued  an  order,  announcing  to  the  authorities  of  the 
city  that  he  should  remain  only  a  week  longer,  and  it 
would  be  necessary  for  them  to  organize  a  home-guard 
for  the  preservation  of  good  order  after  the  United 
States  troops  had  left  the  country  ;  also,  that  if  they  had 
not  arms  sufficient,  he  would  furnish  a  supply  for  that 
purpose.  There  was  at  once  organized  a  force  of  eight 
hundred  men,  called  the  National  Guard  of  the  City 
of  Mexico,  to  whom  the  general  issued  arms,  ammu- 
nition, and  every  thing  else  necessary. 

General  Worth's  army  had  lost  eight  officers  at  the 
taking  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  orders  were  issued 
to  me  for  the  removal  of  their  bodies  from  the  ceme- 
tery, in  order  that  they  might  be  embalmed,  prepara- 
tory to  my  taking  them  to  Vera  Cruz  in  a  wagon  de- 
tailed for  that  purpose.  This  duty  was  attended  to 
properly,  and  I  afterwards  saw  them  safely  placed  on 
board  the  steamer  at  Vera  Cruz. 

A  few  days  before  we  left  the  city,  the  general  noti- 


182  SALUTING   FLAGS. 

fied  tlie  Mexican  autlioritit^s  of  the  day  of  his  depart- 
ure, inviting  tliem  to  assemble  their  troops,  and  meet 
his  on  the  public  plaza,  for  the  purpose  of  firing 
mutual  salutes  on  tlie  hauling  down  of  the  American 
and  raising  of  the  Mexican  flag.  On  the  morning  ap- 
pointed, the  recently  organized  National  Guard,  with 
a  band  of  music,  appeared  on  the  Plaza,  and  were  met 
by  General  Worth,  with  his  army.  AVhile  the  Amer- 
ican Hag  was  being  lowered,  and  the  Mexican  raised, 
the  bands  played  appropriate  airs,  and  when  the  Mex- 
ican flag  reached  the  topmast,  it  was  saluted  by  the 
artillery  of  our  army.  The  Mexicans  showed  their 
respect  for  the  American  flag  by  cheers  and  an  infantry 
salute.  This  impressive  ceremony  was  witnessed  by  a 
very  large  portion  of  the  people  of  the  city. 

Immediately  after  the  close  of  this  ceremony,  the 
word  was  given  to  march,  and  our  troops,  accompanied 
by  the  Mexican  guard  to  the  limits  of  the  city,  their 
band  placing  a  farewell  air,  started  for  Vera  Cruz, 
the  immense  crowd  thronging  the  streets,  and  very 
many  of  them  expressing  regret  at  our  departure,  as 
they  felt  that  General  Worth's  administration  had 
been  very  favorable  to  poor  people. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  before  we  got  out  of  the 
city,  and  we  only  made  six  miles  that  day,  stojiping 
at  the  station  of  Pinal  Blanco,  the  first  station  on  the 
return  trip. 

I  had  a  very  different  freight  now  from  the  provis- 
ions and  forage  I  left  Vera  Cruz  with,  and  m}^  trains 
would  remind  one  of  moving  day  in  New  York.  There 
were  tents,  and  camp  equipage  of  all  kinds,  saddles, 
old  harness,  blankets,  and  quartermaster  stores,  dis- 
abled guns,  and  some  ammunition  ;  also,  a  fair  sprink- 
ling of  crippled  soldiers  riding  on  top  of  each  load, 


THE   RETURN.  183 

resembling,  in  some  respects,  an  omnibus  overloaded 
with  outside  passengers. 

The  second  evening  after  leaving  Mexico,  we  arrived 
at  Puebla,  where  we  were  delayed  two  days,  breaking 
up  the  camp  of  our  troojis  there,  and  loading  their 
equipage,  General  Worth  also  assisting  the  city  gov- 
ernment in  raising  a  military  force  for  its  protection 
after  our  d<>parture. 

After  leaving  Puebla  we  pushed  on  for  Vera  Cruz, 
stopping  at  each  station  along  the  road  which  I  had 
supplied  with  forage  and  provisions,  and  picking  up 
our  troops,  who  were  rejoiced  to  leave  the  country  and 
get  away  from  the  many  diseases  that  were  now  opera- 
ting like  a  scourge  among  them.  Before  we  reached 
the  place  where  I  had  seen  the  dismounted  twenty-four 
pounder  in  the  road,  the  general  sent  forward  machin- 
ists, with  proper  tools,  and  had  about  a  foot  of  the 
muzzle  sawed  off,  which  he  placed  in  one  of  my 
wagons,  to  be  forwarded  to  Washington  as  a  trophy. 

On  the  route  we  saw  where  Santa  Anna  had  blown 
up  a  bridge  to  delay  General  Worth's  division  ;  and 
General  Worth  showed  me  where  he  threw  a  pontoon 
bridge  across  the  creek,  or  river,  in  two  hours.  It  was 
the  plan  of  the  Mexican  general  to  retreat  rapidly 
enough  to  blow  up  the  National  Bridge,  but  he  failed 
to  do  it.  This  is  a  very  large  structure,  built  of  solid 
masonry  laid  in  cement,  b}^  the  Sj^ianish  government, 
and  the  piers  and  abutments  are  probably  one  hundred 
feet  high.  General  Worth's  haste  in  laying  the  pon- 
toon bridge  across  the  creek  at  Plan  del  Rio,  enal)led 
him  to  pursue  the  retreating  Mexicans  to  the  National 
Bridge,  where  they  found  holes  drilled  r<\idy  for 
blasting  and  destroying  a  section,  but  the  Mexicans 
being  compelled  to  leave  suddenly,  our  troops  crossed 


184  CAMP  NEAR  VERA  CRUZ. 

the  bridge  in  safety.  Tlie  day  before  we  arrived  at 
Vera  Cruz,  in  the  valley  of  Santa  Fe,  we  met  General 
Twiggs,  with  his  brigade  of  soldiers.  General  Worth 
inquired  as  to  the  prospect  of  vessels  to  take  his  men 
home.  General  Twiggs  replied  that  it  was  very  poor, 
and  his  men  were  dying  at  Vera  Cruz,  from  sun-stroke, 
fevers,  and  other  diseases.  He  was  losing  more  men 
by  sickness  than  he  had  on  the  battle-field.  After 
counseling  together.  General  Worth  said  that  if  such 
were  the  facts,  he  thought  it  best  to  leave  the  men  out- 
side of  Vera  Cruz,  where  the  air  was  purer,  until 
vessels  could  be  obtained  to  take  them  home. 

General  Worth  encamped  his  men  in  a  pleasant 
grove  in  the  Santa  Fe  valley,  near  a  stream  of  pure 
water.  All  the  wagons  were  overhauled,  and  such 
things  taken  out  as  the  troops  needed,  after  which  I 
took  the  train  into  the  city,  had  all  the  wagons  unladen 
at  the  government  warehouse  and  loaded  up  with  pro- 
visions and  forage,  to  return  to  camp,  thus  keeping  the 
army  supplied  till  they  could  be  shipped  home  from 
Vera  Cruz. 

In  an  interview  with  General  Twiggs,  to  whom  I 
made  my  report,  he  said  he  was  very  glad  I  had  no 
trouble  with  the  wagonmasters,  as  he  feared  they  had 
learned  some  bad  lessons  from  my  predecessor.  He 
ordered  me  to  keep  my  trains  at  Vera  Cruz,  but  to 
transport  all  needful  stores  to  the  camp,  eight  miles 
distant,  as  often  as  necessary,  and  to  come  to  him  for 
orders  if  I  stood  in  need  of  any  thing. 

The  day  after  my  interview  with  him.  General 
Twiggs  caused  a  gallows  to  be  erected  on  the  beach,  to 
hang  a  Texan  Eanger  who  was  a  member  of  Colonel 
Jack  Hays's  regiment  of  six  hundred  men,  and  who 
had  been  arrested  for  shooting  an  inoffensive  Mexican. 


TEXAN   RANGERS.  185 

This  was  really  a  case  of  injustice,  as  I  was  an  eye- 
witness of  tile  affair,  as  it  happened  when  I  was  in  the 
city  after  forage,  and  I  was  called  upon  as  a  witness  at 
tlie  trial.  The  facts  w(3re,  that  as  the  Texan  was  walk- 
ing on  the  street  with  a  bundle  of  fodder  under  liia 
arm,  a  drunken  Mexican  ran  out  from  a  grocery  and 
said  he  would  kill  one  Texan  before  they  got  out  of  the 
country,  at  the  same  time  drawing  a  long  knife  from 
his  legging.  I  shouted  a  warning  to  the  Texan,  who 
sprung  to  one  side,  threw  the  bundle  in  the  Mexican' s 
face,  and  drawing  his  six-shooter,  shot  him  dead. 
General  Twiggs  did  not  like  the  regiment,  for,  as  has 
been  said,  he  was  a  martinet,  and  the  material  of  tliis 
regiment  was  such  that  they  did  not  take  kindly  to  his 
strict  ideas  of  discipline.  The  gallows  was  prepared 
for  the  execution  to  take  place  the  ensuing  day  at 
eleven  o'clock.  The  Texan  was  taken  out  on  the 
beach  to  the  gallows,  and  walking  boldly  u]^,  seated 
himself  on  the  drop.  The  regiment  of  Texan  Rangers 
rode  up,  surrounding  the  gallows,  and  with  their 
pistols  and  carbines  loaded,  ordered  the  man  to  "come 
down  off  of  that,"  which  he  did.  He  mounted  the 
horse  of  a  comrade,  arms  were  given  him,  and  then 
the  regiment  went  into  the  city,  got  to  drinking,  and 
commenc(,>d  tearing  through  the  streets  lik(^  madnu'n, 
inquiring  for  General  Twiggs,  and  threatening  him 
with  instant  d(^atli.  It  was  nearly  dark,  and  Twiggs, 
who  had  no  troops  in  the  city  excejit  a  small  body 
guard,  was  secreted  in  the  Custom  House,  which  stood 
at  the  edge  of  the  mole,  near  the  castle,  so  that  vessels 
could  land  at  its  side.  The  gates  of  the  Custom  House 
were  closed,  to  keep  out  the  crowd.  Twiggs  crawled 
through  a  window  facing  the  sea,  got  into  a  boat,  and 
was  taken  by  United  States  marines  on  board  the 


18G  SALES  AT  AUCTIO:^. 

steamer  New  Orleans,  wliicli  was  anchored  about  a 
mile  from  tlie  Custom  House. 

The  following  morning  General  Twiggs  sent  orders 
to  Colonel  Maston  to  send  the  Rangers  to  Texas  imme- 
diately. After  some  delay,  occasioned  by  the  regi- 
ment demanding  transportation  for  some  of  their  lady 
friends  who  wished  to  accompany  them,  they  were 
finally  embarked.  After  they  had  gone,  the  general 
came  on  shore,  feeling  much  relieved  to  find  the  town 
free  from  the  unruly  regiment. 

That  afternoon,  four  government  transport  steamers 
arrived,  and  the  next  day  the  general  put  mules, 
horses,  and  all  government  property  under  the  ham- 
mer, selling  it  for  what  it  would  bring,  and  started  me 
with  my  trains  out  to  where  General  Worth' s  division 
were  encamped,  to  bring  in  their  baggage  and  stores. 
When  my  trains  arrived  and  were  unloaded,  they 
were  also  sold  at  auction  as  they  stood  on  the  beach, 
with  the  mules  in  harness.  Wagons  brought  twenty - 
six  dollars  each,  mules  fourteen  to  twenty  dollars  a 
pair,  and  some  fair  horses  sold  for  two  dollars  and 
fifty  cents  each ! 

The  men  were  then  embarked  on  the  steamers  with 
all  liaste,  on  account  of  the  deadly  ravages  of  disease. 
A  pontoon  bridge,  which  cost  the  United  States  a  very 
large  amount,  was  abandoned  and  left  lying  in  the 
quartermaster's  department  grounds,  where  I  suppose 
it  rotted  down  or  was  cut  up  for  firewood.  Haystacks, 
and  much  other  property,  were  left  without  selling  at 
all.  Some  Americans  could  not  resist  these  opportu- 
nities, and  staid  to  sj^eculate. 

The  day  before  the  troops  embarked,  I  was  paid  off, 
and  decided  to  stay  in  Mexico.  I  accompanied  Gene- 
rals Worth,  Twiggs,  and  Kearney  (who  previous  to 


CASTLE  OF  SAN  JUAX  DE  ULLOA.       187 

this  had  hoen  hiid  up  sick  at  Vera  Cruz)  on  ])oard  the 
vessel  to  see  th(^ui  oft",  and  was  urged  hy  tliem  to  go  to 
the  United  States,  but  declined,  and  bade  them  fare- 
well, thinking  1  could  do  better  in  Mexico. 

After  continuing  in  Vera  Cruz  about  a  week  longer, 
I  had  a  desire  to  visit  the  Castle  of  San  Juan  de  UUoa, 
which  is  a  prison  as  well  as  defense  of  the  harbor,  and 
obtained  permission  through  a  justice  of  the  peace. 
He  said  it  was  customary  for  visitors  to  take  a  basket 
of  provisions  for  the  prisoners,  and  that  was  looked 
upon  by  tlie  jailor  as  a  sort  of  ticket  of  admission.  I 
procured  the  ])rovisions,  hired  a  boat  and  went  to  the 
castle,  wliich  is  built  in  the  sea,  about  a  mile  from 
shore,  and  was  cordially  admitted.  There  were  fifty 
or  sixty  prisoners,  and  I  was  surprised  to  see  that 
nearly  all  of  them  were  as  white  as  sheets.  The  light 
of  the  sun  never  penetrated  with  its  cheerful  rays  into 
those  cells.  I  went  through  the  entire  prison,  giving  a 
portion  of  my  basket  of  provisions  to  each  criminal. 
The  cells  run  ten  or  fifteen  feet  below  the  level  of  the 
sea,  and  there  are  four  ranges  of  cells,  in  circular  form, 
one  above  another,  and  the  lower  tiers  are  very  damp. 
In  high  tide  the  sea  runs  within  a  few  feet  of  the  top 
of  the  castle.  The  light  that  struggled  down  through 
the  thick  glass  skylight  lighted  up  the  two  uppermost 
tiers  well  enough,  but  the  third  was  darker,  and  the 
lowest  absolutely  in  pitchy  darkness.  In  the  lower 
tier  were  prisoners  who  were  guilty  of  murder  and 
other  high  crimes,  and  were  confined  for  life,  and  they 
saw  absolutely  nothing,  except  twice  a  day,  when  the 
jailor,  with  his  tallow  candle,  carried  them  their  miser- 
able rations.  These  cells  receive  no  ventilation,  except 
by  a  sail-cloth  and  suction-pipe.  The  corpse-like  ap- 
pearance of  the  prisoners  in  the  dark  cells  was  truly 


188 


A   PICTURE   OF   MISERY, 


friglitfnl.  Tliere  was  one  man  there  eighty -five  or 
ninety  years  old,  whose  head  was  white  as  snow,  and 
finger  nails  an  inch  long.  Tlie  jailor  said  this  prison- 
er was  committed  for  the  murder  of  his  wife  and  four 
cliiJdren.  Other  prisoners  looked  wretchedly,  but  this 
old  man  was  the  picture  of  misery  and  despair. 

On  coming  out  of  the  prison,  I  mounted  the  outside 
walls,  and  saw  some  places  which  appeared  to  have 
been  damaged  by  the  bombardment  by  our  fleet,  the 
ye'dY  previous.  The  wall  was  from  five  to  eight  feet 
thick,  and  the  whole  protected  by  breakwaters.  I  left 
the  castle  and  went  ashore,  feeling  truly  thankful  that 
I  could  breathe  the  free  air  of  heaven  and  mingle  with 
society. 


jii^7JS^.:it)S:!3\7'^i' 


'/ 


i^.'M«SBlM 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  city  of  Vera  Cruz  is  situated  on  a  sand  plain, 
and  lies  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  ocean.  Com- 
mencing at  tlie  mole,  a  wall  built  of  rock  and  cement 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high,  extends  entirely  around  the 
city  to  the  water's  edge  at  the  opposite  side,  being  like 
an  immense  horse-shoe  in  shape.  A  mole  is  built  along 
the  entire  front,  and  at  each  end  of  it  is  built  a  strong 
fort,  where  heavy  guns  are  mounted.  The  wall  around 
the  city  is  about  three  feet  thick,  and  has  port-lioles  at 
intervals,  for  infautiy  to  lire  through.  There  are  only 
three  gates,  one  of  which  opens  to  the  north-west,  being 
the  road  to  Mexico.  Another  gate  opens  to  the  south- 
west, the  road  leading  to  the  city  of  Orizaba,  and  the 
south-east  gate  is  the  entrance  for  all  the  vast  trade 
from  the  country  about  Tabasco,  from  which  disti-ict 
comes  the  greatest  variety  of  tropical  fruits,  as  well  as 
cacao-nuts,  from  which  chocolate  is  made  in  large 
quantities  and  shipped  from  Vera  Cruz. 

All  the  gates  are  k(»pt  locked  at  night,  to  keep  con- 
traband goods  from  going  out  or  coming  in,  and  for 
the  city's  defense.  No  person  resides  outside  of 
the  wall,  which,  as  well  as  the  forts  at  its  ends,  and 
the  castle  of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa,  were  built  by  old 
Spain.  To  this  wall,  and  the  filth  of  the  city,  I  attrib- 
ute the  ill -health  of  Vera  Cruz.  The  wall  prevents 
ventilation,  for  no  breeze  ever  reaches  the  city  except 
in  one  direction,  from  the  sea.  Turkey  buzzards  in  the 
streets  of  Vera  Cruz  are  as  tame  as  chickens,  and  any 
13 


190  KETURN   TO   MEXICO. 

person  hurting  one  subjects  liimself  to  a  fine  of  ten 
dollars.  The  streets  are  very  narrow  and  dirty,  and 
the  people  remarkably  filthy,  and  there  is  no  drainage. 
The  natives  are  very  dark-colored,  being  a  mixture  of 
a  little  of  every  kind  of  breed. 

The  dress  of  the  ladies  is  rather  primitive,  most  of 
them  wearing  a  linen  chemise,  a  silk  handkerchief 
around  the  neck,  a  petticoat  fastened  at  the  waist,  stock- 
ings and  slippers,  tortoise-shell  combs  in  their  hair, 
necklaces  of  pearls,  and  jewelry  in  their  ears  and  on 
their  fingers.  The  men  of  Vera  Cruz  wear  such  a  va- 
riety of  dress  that  there  is  no  need  of  any  description  ; 
but  they  uniformly  wear  a  broad-brimmed  straw  hat, 
called  a  "Sombrero,"  a  jacket,  and  loose  pair  of 
coarse  trowsers. 

I  was  soon  employed  again,  for  a  wealthy  merchant 
named  James  Saratusa,  owning  a  stage  line  from  Vera 
Cruz  to  Mexico,  requested  me  to  take  a  train  of  seventy - 
five  wagons,  loaded  with  goods,  to  the  city  of  Mexicc, 
which  I  agreed  to  deliver  to  a  rich  Castilian  in  that  cit^^ , 
named  Kitania  Ruby,  for  the  sum  of  seven  hundred  dol- 
lars. With  a  strong  guard  of  mounted  men  I  started  the 
train  for  the  city  of  Mexico,  stopping  at  the  castle  of 
Perote,  laying  by  there  two  days  to  rest  my  teams.  By 
permission  of  the  authorities  I  examined  the  castle, 
which  is  strongly  built  of  rock  and  cement,  and  protect- 
ed by  a  double  wall  around  it :  the  intervening  space  of 
twenty  feet  between  each  wall  is  spanned  by  a  draw- 
bridge, which  is  let  doA\Ti  or  drawn  up  by  a  windlass, 
this  being  the  only  means  of  access  to  the  castle.  Be- 
tween the  inner  wall  and  the  castle,  which  is  three 
stories  in  h(iight,  there  is  a  space  of  about  ten  feet  all 
around.  At  the  rear  of  the  castle,  outside  the  walls, 
stands  a  great  wooden  cross  full  of  holes,  and  sur- 


OKIZABA  AND   POPOCATEPETL.  191 

rounded  hymen's  bones.  It  is  asserted  tliat  during 
the  struggle  of  the  Mexicans  for  independence*,  this  was 
the  pkice  for  the  execution  of  Spanisli  prisoners.  At 
the  foot  of  the  cross  is  an  iron  chair,  very  conveniently 
arranged  for  tlic  unfortunate  victim  who  is  sentem'(^d  to 
die  by  tlie  garrotiug  process,  instead  of  by  the  bullet. 

From  Perote  we  went  forward  to  Puebla,  which  is 
one  of  the  handsomest  cities  in  tlie  Mexican  Republic. 
It  is  in  a  beautiful  valley,  surrounded  by  a  thickly  set- 
tled country,  and  in  plain  sight  and  not  far  to  the  east 
is  the  snow-capped  volcano  of  Orizaba.  When  the 
weather  is  clear  there  is  usually  thick  smoke  seen 
rising  from  the  crater  of  this  volcano,  and  the  snow 
ever  glittering  on  its  summit  is  seen  by  the  mariner  out 
at  sea  long  before  he  sees  the  land,  though  the  volcano 
is  inland  some  seventy  miles.  The  great  chain  of 
mountains,  running  northward  into  Russian  America, 
seems  to  start  with  this  volcano  for  its  base  ;  though  to 
the  south  the  chain  commences  again  after  a  little 
stretch  of  level  country,  and  extends  down  through 
Guatemala  and  Central  America. 

To  the  south-west  of  Puebla  is  another  volcano  called 
Popocatepetl.  It  lies  between  Puebla  and  Mexico ; 
and  on  the  side  towards  Mexico,  a  large  glacier  ex- 
ttnids  dow^n  from  which  ice  is  easily  obtained  in 
sufficient  quantiti(^s  to  supply  those  two  cities.  The 
western  side,  so  glassy  in  appearance,  glitters  beauti- 
fully in  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun. 

Within  sight  of  Puebla,  in  the  same  lovely  valley, 
is  the  village  of  the  Publanos,  a  remnant  of  the  ancient 
Aztec  race.  They  are  peaceable,  industrious  Indians, 
and  have  orchards  and  farms.  Th«y  burn  charcoal, 
make  chairs,  and  haul  wood,  besides  getting  a  good 
livuis  off  their  farms.    There  are  no  half-breeds  among 


^o 


192  CURIOSITIES   OF   MEXICO. 

tliem,  for  they  will  mix  with  no  other  tribes  of  Indians, 
nor  with  Mexicans. 

Our  way  led  over  the  mountains,  in  which  is  the 
volcano  of  Popocatepetl.  Ascending  ten  miles  over  a 
rough  road,  and  descending  nearly  as  many  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  mountain,  we  passed  through 
heavy  forests  of  pine,  sugar-pine  and  fir-trees.  Before 
Juarez  time  it  was  a  harbor  for  thieves,  who  infested 
this  forest  and  attacked  the  stages  almost  every  time 
they  passed.  On  the  summit  is  the  station  of  Rio 
Frio,  called  after  a  little  stream  running  down  among 
the  hills,  which  is  so  cold  that  it  is  difficult  to  drink 
freely  of  it. 

I  arrived  with  my  train  and  escort  at  the  city  of 
Mexico,  and  turned  over  to  Mr.  Ruby  the  wagons, 
teams,  and  merchandise  entrusted  to  my  charge  by  his 
partner  at  Yera  Cruz.  He  wanted  me  to  stay  with  him 
and  run  his  trains  regularly  between  the  two  cities ; 
but  I  declined,  telling  him  that  money  would  not  tempt 
me  to  go  back  to  Vera  Cruz.  He  paid  me  off,  and  I  re- 
mained in  Mexico  about  two  months,  examining  the 
curiosities  of  that  ancient  city,  and  interesting  myself 
in  learning  its  manners  and  customs.  The  city  is  al- 
most an  island,  being  surrounded  by  a  lake  and  a 
canal,  and  entered  by  only  four  roads.  At  the  museum, 
which  I  visited  first,  there  were  many  wonderful  things 
on  exhibition.  One  was  the  "Mammoth  rib,"  which 
is  so  large  as  to  require  four  men  to  lift  it.  There  was 
beside  it  a  great  tooth  which,  probably,  came  from  the 
same  animal,  and  its  decay(^d  hollow  would  hold  a  peck 
of  corn.  Standing  on  the  ends  of  its  four  roots,  it  was 
about  as  high  as  the  seat  of  a  common  chair,  and  a 
person  could  sit  on  it  comfortably.  The  Mexican  ac- 
count of  the  finding  of  these  bones  is,  that  some  men 


CUUIOSITIES  CONTINUED.  193 

were  digging  for  limestone  on  tlie  fiirtlicr  side  of  tli<? 
lake  opi)osite  the  city,  and  found  tliem  imbedded  in 
the  soft  limestone. 

I  saw  a  stuffed  serpent  there,  said  to  be  from  Monte- 
zuma's museum,  which  was  six  and  a  half  yards  in 
length,  with  two  distinct  and  perfectly  formed  heads. 
The  point  of  separation  was  about  four  inches  back  of 
the  nose.  In  the  middle  it  was  as  thick  as  an  ordinary 
man's  body. 

In  a  large  glass  bottle  were  preserved  a  pair  of  In- 
dian connected  bab}^  twins.  The  connection  was 
similar  to  that  of  the  Siamese  twins  ;  but  the  birth  of 
these  had  been  premature,  and  they  were  only  six  or 
eight  inches  long. 

In  the  center  of  the  museum  was  the  bronze  statue 
of  a  horse,  called  the  "  Trioya  Horse,"  on  which  was 
the  statue  of  Charles  the  Fourth,  looking  through  a 
spy-glass.  It  is  a  wonderful  piece  of  work,  and  was 
made  by  some  unknown  artist,  so  long  ago  that  there 
is  no  record  of  his  name  ;  still,  there  is  a  legend  that 
lie  was  shot  for  possessing  supernatural  powers.  Th(3 
horse  is  shod,  and  one  foot  is  raised.  The  bridle,  the 
veins  in  the  skin,  the  mouth  and  eyes,  are  perfect,  and 
in  size  it  is  much  larger  than  any  common  horse.  In 
his  side  is  a  door,  which,  when  shut,  cannot  be  seen, 
but  when  open,  a  man  can  enter  and  sit  inside.  I  went 
into  it  myself.  The  statue  is  moulded  on  a  pedestal, 
and  the  whole  work,  including  the  pedestal,  is  cast  in 
one  piece.  England  offered  thirty  thousand  dollars  for 
it,  and  General  Worth  tried  hard  to  get  it  to  take  to 
Washington.  The  Trioyas  are  said  to  be  a  tribe  of 
Aborigines  who  were  exterminated  by  Montezuma. 

I  went  next  to  see  the  "  Church  of  the  Alrgin  Mary," 
three  miles  east  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  at  the  foot  of  a 


194  THE  ARCHES   OF   WATER. 

small  mountain,  and,  I  suppose,  one  of  the  richest 
churches  in  Mexico.  The  ornaments  and  altar  decora- 
tions were  elegant  and  costly  ;  but  what  attracted  my 
notice  was  a  statue  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  about  the  com- 
mon size  of  a  woman,  standing  on  a  moss-covered  rock 
witliin  the  altar.  She  had  a  crown  of  gold  on  her 
head,  angel's  wings,  a  shining  corona  all  around  her, 
and  was  covered  all  over  with  gold-stars  and  spangles. 
The  natives  believe  in  an  old  legend  which  makes  the 
origin  of  this  angelic  figure  very  miraculous,  and  the 
construction  of  the  church  is  also  considered  miracu- 
lous by  those  deluded  people. 

From  the  church  I  went  to  look  at  "The  Arches  of 
Water."  This  is  the  acqueduct  that  supplies  the  city 
of  Mexico  with  water  from  a  reservoir  eight  miles  dis- 
tant. It  is  built  of  rock  and  cement,  supj^orted  by 
arches  and  piers  of  the  same  material,  and  is  so  high 
above  the  ground  in  some  places  tliat  a  man  cannot 
throw  a  stone  over  it.  The  reservoir  is  also  built  of 
rock  and  cement,  and  supplies  the  city  with  all  the 
water  they  need.  It  is  a  very  ancient  work  and  is 
supposed  to  have  been  built  at  about  the  same  time  as 
the  old  castle  of  Chapultepec. 

On  returning  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  I  found  about 
one  hundred  Irishmen,  who  had  deserted  from  the 
United  States  army  and  fought  on  the  side  of  the  Mex- 
icans, on  account  of  the  Mexican  religion  being  Catholic. 
They  were  part  of  two  or  three  hundred  Irishmen  who 
deserted  from  General  Scotf  s  army  on  his  way  to  Mex- 
ico, went  ahead  and  joined  tlie  Mexicans,  aiding 
materially  in  making  the  battle  of  Molino  del  Rey,  a 
short  distance  from  Mexico,  almost  a  disastrous  affair 
for  us.  This  one  hundred  escaped,  though  numbers 
were  killed  and  thirty  taken  prisoners.    Those  thirty 


Montezuma's  stone  almanac.  195 

General  Scott  hung  to  the  limbs  of  cotton-wood  ti-ces 
as  soon  as  General  Worth  planted  our  flag  on  tlie  bat- 
tlements of  Chapultepec.  Now,  I  saw  before  me  tliis 
band  of  one  hundred  Irish  deserters  enlisted  as  a  gimrd 
for  the  city  of  Mexico,  under  tlie  name  of  tlu^  St. 
Patrick's  guard,  and  commanded  by  an  Irish  soldier 
named  Kiley,  who  had  deserted  before  the  war  com- 
menced, and,  instead  of  suffering  death,  as  in  time  of 
war,  had  been  let  off  with  the  letters,  U.  S.,  branded  on 
one  clieek. 

I  had  heard  a  great  deal  of  "Montezuma's  Stone 
Almanac,"  and,  having  leisure,  went  to  see  it.  It  is  a 
rock  in  the  form  of  a  cube,  fifteen  feet  thick,  lying  close 
by  the  door  of  St.  John's  church.  On  one  side  more 
than  a  hundred  new  moons  and  over  a  hundred  stars 
are  engraved.  On  the  opposite  sid(>  are  engraved 
lizards,  snakes,  toads,  and  different  kinds  of  animals. 
On  another  side  were  ancient  letters.  I  understand 
Spanish  and  half  a  dozen  Indian  tongues,  but  could 
make  nothing  of  these  curious  signs.  On  the  other  side 
were  cut  full-sized  representations  of  Montezuma  and 
his  wife.  I  could  not  see  what  was  on  the  top  for  I 
could  not  get  up  there.  Such  were  the  contents  of  tliis 
celebrated  Almanac. 

During  my  stay  in  the  city  we  had  two  shocks  of 
earthquake.  The  most  fi*ightful  of  all  scenes  was  pre- 
sented. The  waters  of  the  lake  were  fearfully  tlirown 
up  and  agitated,  overflowing  the  streets  of  the  city.  In 
many  places  the  Mexicans  gathered,  and  knelt,  and 
prayed  till  the  excitement  was  over.  I  was  in  a  square 
close  by  the  Cathedral.  The  bell-tower  of  the  cliurch 
was  sx^lit  by  the  earthquake,  and  through  tlie  ojieiiing 
the  bell,  weighing  over  two  tons,  was  cast  out  and  fell 
in  front  of  the  church,  narrowly  missing  the  head  of  a 


196  ENGLISH   MINING   COMPANY. 

man  standing  in  the  door.  This  bell  is  supposed  to  be 
a  tliird  silver  and  gold,  is  quite  large,  and  the  ringing 
of  its  clear  notes  can  be  easily  heard  nine  miles  from 
the  city. 

I  was  not  willing  to  remain  unemj)loyed  for  any 
length  of  time,  and  was  soon  offered  the  conductorship 
of  the  same  train  of  seventy-five  wagons  that  I  had 
brought  through  from  Vera  Cruz.  This  was  in  the 
spring  of  1849.  A  wealthy  English  firm,  Mcintosh  & 
Co.,'  who  owned  mines  in  six  Mexican  States,  had  pur- 
chased the  train  of  Ruby  &  Co. ,  and  desired  me  to  go 
with  it  to  Guanaxuato,  about  one  hundred  and  sixty 
miles  north-west  of  Mexico.  That  was  the  head- 
quarters of  the  mining  company.  On  my  arrival  there 
with  the  train,  Mr.  Mcintosh  employed  me  to  haul  his 
immensely  rich  silver  ore  from  the  mine,  six  miles 
away,  to  Guanaxuato,  where  they  refined  it.  I  made 
a  trip  with  the  seventy -five  wagons  every  day,  except 
Sundays,  for  four  months.  Besides  my  wagons  there 
was  a  train  of  pack  mules  making  daily  trips.  The 
vein  of  metal  was  an  immense  one — nine  feet  thick, 
and  of  great  depth — being  worked  with  many  shafts 
and  drifts.  It  had  been  worked  since  the  time  of 
Old  Spanish  Dominion,  and  is  now  yielding  large 
profits. 

During  my  stay  there  I  had  an  escort  of  fifteen  Eng- 
lish soldiers  with  every  day's  trip,  who  guarded  our 
freight  with  as  much  care  as  if  it  were  pure  silver.  If 
a  Mexican  succeeded  in  stealing  a  hatful  he  got  a  hun- 
dred dollars.  The  Spanish  name  of  this  mine  was  the 
"Luce,"  (Light  in  English).  I  may  here  notice  that 
this  range  of  mountains  called  the  Sierra  Madre  in 
Mexico,  and  Sierra  Nevada  in  the  United  States,  are,  in 
my  opinion,  the  richest  in  the  world,  as  they  abound 


ili'iiMiii;ii!jri,li!illli!llli!lltMii;ill;iinilll!ll!n!l1ll'!li:i;!Pli!hi| 


\ffu.fptim 


PllKCAUTIONS   AGAINST    THEFT.  197 

in  silver  and  quick-silver,  as  well  as  gold,  copper,  and 
iron  occasionally. 

The  Mexicans  employed  in  the  mine  were  great 
thieves.  There  was  much  virgin  silver  found,  usually 
in  thin  flakes  in  crevices  of  the  rocks.  Before  going 
down  into  the  mine,  the  laborers  strip  off  all  their 
clothes  to  a  simple  breech-cloth,  and  hand  them  to  ?  . 
person  appointed  to  take  charge  of  them.  When  they 
come  out  they  often  have  stiips  and  pieces  of  virgin 
silver  worth  from  two  to  five  dollars  shoved  under 
their  hair,  or  secreted  in  their  mouths,  or  hidden  under 
their  breech- cloths.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  mud  in 
the  mines  which  facilitates  stealing.  Upon  coming  out 
of  the  mine  their  breech-cloths  are  taken  off  and  shaken, 
and  they  are  then  allowed  to  put  on  theii'  clothes. 
There  w^ere  five  hundred  men  employed  in  the  mine 
day  and  night.  Under  the  law,  when  a  man  is  found 
with  metal  secreted  about  him,  he  receives  fifteen  to 
twenty  lashes  with  a  cowhide  on  his  naked  back,  and 
is  sent  back  into  the  mine  to  work  without  pay  for  a 
week. 

The  mine  is  ventilated  with  air  shafts  three  and  a 
half  feet  square,  to  the  number  of  twenty,  and  several 
of  them  are  five  hundred  feet  in  dej^th.  Without 
these  shafts  the  air  at  such  a  distance  from  the  surface 
would  be  impure  and  dangerous.  An  extraordinary 
occurrence  at  one  of  these  shafts  showed  the  extreme 
hazard  to  which  a  Mexican  thief  will  exi)ose  himself. 

One  day  a  laborer  was  missed  at  roll-call  by  the  over- 
seer of  his  department.  Fred.  Glenning,  the  assay er 
and  general  manager  went  directl}'  to  the  door-keeper, 

"Here's  his  clothes,"  said  the  door-keeper.  "He 
never  went  out  this  way." 

*"'  He  must  have  gone  out  this  way,"  was  the  remark 


198  SAMPLE   OF   THIEVIT^G. 

of  tlie  assay er.     "There  is  no  other  way,  and  you  must 
account  for  him." 

While  thus  talking,  some  persons  who  had  been  sent 
out  to  hunt  the  Mexican,  came  up  with  him,  naked, 
except  a  blanket  around  him.  They  also  brought 
twenty -five  pounds  of  virgin-silver  and  ore  worth  at 
least  two  hundred  and  seventy -five  dollars,  which  they 
found  tied  up  in  his  breech-cloth,  and  which  he  had 
accumulated  and  hidden  in  the  mine.  They  found  him 
standing  by  the  gate  with  his  plunder,  for,  as  the  mine 
is  surrounded  by  a  smooth  stone  wall,  fifteen  feet  high, 
with  sentry  boxes  on  top,  the  man  had  no  means  of  es- 
cape, except  he  slipped  out  with  some  wagon.  Finding 
he  had  to  go  to  jail,  the  Mexican  confessed,  saying  : 

"Don't  blame  the  door-keeper.  Tm  the  only  one  to 
blame.     I  didn't  come  out  that  way." 

"How,  then,  did  you  get  out  r'  inquired  the  man- 
ager. 

"I  will  show  you,"  replied  the  Mexican,  taking  him 
to  a  shaft  over  four  hundred  feet  deep. 

' '  Impossible, ' '  cried  out  the  manager.  ' '  If  you  will 
go  down  into  the  mine  the  usual  way,  past  the  door- 
keeper, and  then  come  up  through  this  air  shaft,  bring- 
ing twenty-five  pounds  of  ore,  I  will  let  you  ofi"  from 
punishment,  and  give  you  the  ore  you  bring  up  and  the 
twenty -five  pounds  already  brought  up." 

The  Mexican  went  into  the  mine  as  directed,  and  after 
some  time  had  elapsed,  was  seen  working  his  way  up, 
putting  his  toes  and  fingers  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
shaft  into  the  little  indentures  left  in  blasting,  where  a 
slip  of  half  an  inch  would  have  been  irretrievably  fatal. 
Tied  up  in  his  breech-cloth,  which  hung  suspended 
from  his  forehead,  was  about  twenty -five  pounds  of  ore. 
He  came  out  safely,  and  the  amazed  manager  bade  him 


EXPERIENCE   IN   BLASTING.  199 

leave  at  once  and  never  sliow  his  face  about  tliere  again, 
threatening  to  slioot  him  if  lie  did.  Anotlier  stealing 
trick  served  for  a  standing  joke  against  Mr.  Glenning. 
A  very  valuable  specimen  of  silver  ore  was  got  out  and 
handed  to  the  manager  for  examination.  He  placfjd  it 
under  him,  after  showing  it  to  several  gentlemen,  and 
was  busily  engaged  about  some  other  matter,  till  a  stjr- 
vant  came  along  sweej^ing  and  cleaning  up,  and  Mr. 
Glenning  raised  up  and  took  a  seat  a  little  way  off ;  but 
the  thieving  Mexican  contrived  to  substitute  for  tho 
specimen  a  different  rock,  of  the  same  size,  but  of  no 
value.  This,  when  discovered,  cost  the  poor  servant  a 
tremendous  flogging. 

After  serving  four  months  as  wagon-master,  Mr. 
Glenning  being  in  want  of  a  foreman  in  the  blasting  de- 
partment, requested  me  to  superintend  it  for  a  short 
time,  and  for  two  months  I  endeavored  to  discharge 
that  duty,  though  I  did  not  like  the  dangerous  busi- 
ness. It  was  part  of  my  duty  to  measure  the  holes 
drilled  by  the  men,  which  were  to  be  eighteen  inches 
deep.  One  day,  while  thus  employed,  a  Mexican  laborer, 
who  had  been  carelessly  admitted  below  while  drunk, 
was  sitting  down  with  a  lot  of  loose  powder  in  an  open 
handkerchief  on  the  ground  between  his  legs.  He  be- 
gan to  smoke  a  cigarette,  and  dropped  fire  into  the 
powder,  which,  in  its  explosion,  threw  him  against  the 
rocks,  dashing  his  brains  out.  A  flat  stone  stiiick  me 
in  the  side  and  knock(^d  me  close  to  a  shaft  fifty  feet 
deep.  A  foot  or  two  furtluM-  and  I  should  have  lost  my 
Ufe.  I  did  not  consider  this  a  healthy  business  and 
gave  up  my  position,  excusing  mys(4f  on  the  ground 
of  the  exceeding  dampness  below  affecting  my  health. 

I  then  took  charge  of  the  wagons  again.  The  fourth 
day,  after  renewing  my  trips,  I  was  about  half  a  mile 


200  AN  EXPLOSION. 

from  tlie  mine  with  my  teams,  when  the  company's 
magazine  of  five  hundred  kegs  of  blasting  powder, 
some  three  hundred  yards  from  the  mine,  and  in  the 
edge  of  the  town  of  Luce,  blew  up.  It  shat- 
tered the  building  over  the  mine,  shook  the  hill, 
and  down  deep  in  the  mine  flung  rocks  upon  the 
miners  from  the  roofs  of  their  drifts,  killing  many. 
Others  working  in  spurs  at  a  distance  from  the  ventil- 
ating shafts  were  suffocated.  Altogether,  eighty-five 
miners  perished,  and  about  sixty-five  or  seventy  others 
were  killed  outside.  The  magazine  was  strongly  built 
of  stone  and  cement,  but  nothing  remained  of  it  except 
the  foundation.  As  I  felt  the  explosion  and  looked 
back,  the  smoke  was  bursting  up  like  a  great  white 
cloud,  in  tlie  midst  of  which  were  flying  rocks.  Near 
to  me  fell  a  human  arm,  probably  one  of  the  guards,  as 
it  had  the  cuff*  of  a  soldier' s  coat  on  it.  Bottles  and 
fragments  of  goods  from  a  grocer' s  stand  near  the  mag- 
azine flew  past  our  heads.  As  soldiers  constantly 
stood  on  guard  and  prohibited  smoking  within  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  yards  of  the  grounds,  the  cause  of  the 
explosion  was  and  is  a  mystery. 

After  I  had  worked  another  month  with  my  teams,  I 
was  one  Sunday  sitting  in  my  room,  when  a  Mexican 
came  in  with  a  beautiful  piece  of  metallic  ore,  which  he 
said  he  had  found  in  a  ledge  and  was  not  able  to  work 
it,  but,  if  after  looking  at  the  specimen,  I  wished  to 
work  the  mine,  he  would  labor  for  me  and  sell  the  claim 
at  my  own  price.  He  called  again  on  Monday  and  I 
went  with  him  to  inspect  the  vein,  which  ran  into  a 
mountain  in  which  there  was  an  old  Sj)anish  mine, 
called  the  "  Valenciana."  This  was  in  the  edge  of  the 
city  of  Guanaxuato.  On  my  showmg  the  specimen  to 
Fred.  Glenning,  said  he : 


SUCCESS   IN   MINIXa.  201 

"  Why,  that' s  half  silver  !  Where  did  you  get  it  ? " 
I  told  him  a  Mexican  had  given  it  to  me.  He  said  he 
would  assay  it,  and,  aft^^r  doing  so,  it  proved  very  rich. 
I  told  him  the  vein  was  six  inches  wide  only  and  very 
thin,  but  he  said  it  was  good  property  and  I  had  better 
secure  it.  I  immediately  found  the  Mexican  and  pur- 
cliased  his  right  to  the  mine  for  twenty-five  dollars,  and 
went  to  the  judge  of  the  mining  district  and  had  the 
claim  recorded  in  my  own  name.  I  then  hired  an  ex- 
perienced miner  and  told  him  to  put  half  a  dozen  men 
at  work  on  m}"  account.  They  worked  on  the  mine 
some  three  weeks,  at  a  cost  to  me  of  six  hundred  dol- 
lars, and  appeared  to  get  but  little  metal.  One  Satur- 
day evening,  after  settling  up,  I  told  them  to  discontinue 
their  mining  as  I  was  dissatislied  with  the  results  of 
their  labor.  The  head  miner  begged  the  privilege  of 
working  for  me  with  the  help  another  week  at  the  ledge, 
and  they  kept  at  it  day  and  night.  One  night  I  was 
awakened  about  2  o'clock  by  one  of  my  Mexicans 
knockmg  at  my  door  who  wanted  me  to  get  up  and  ex- 
amine a  piece  of  ore  the}' had  found.  He  said  that  my 
head  miner  wanted  me  to  send  over  four  bottles  of 
whisky,  and  come  over  myself  if  possible.  I  sent  the 
whisky,  then  laid  down  my  specimen  on  the  table,  and 
going  over  to  the  next  house,  called  up  some  of  my 
American  friends,  and  we  immediately  started  for  my 
mine. 

We  found  that  they  had  broken  into  a  very  large 
"  pocket  "  that  was  exceedingl}'  rich.  They  had  taken 
out  over  a  ton  of  ore  that  was  better  than  any  I  had 
seen  in  tlie  country,  and  my  friends  congratulated  me 
on  my  good  fortune,  pronouncing  me  a  ricli  man.  In 
the  morning  I  requested  Mr.  Glenning  to  put  somi^iody 
else  in  my  place  as  I  had  business  of  my  own  to  attend  to. 


202  SELL   OUT  THE   MINE. 

The  metal  was  a  mixture  of  lead  and  silver  ore, 
wliicli  would  dissolve  by  a  simple  process,  and  be  re- 
fined in  the  furnace  with  half  the  labor  usually 
required.  When  the  "pocket"  w^as  exhausted,  as  it 
was  after  a  few  days  of  labor,  there  was  nothing  left 
but  a  continuation  of  the  old  six  inch  vein.  After  re- 
fining my  whole  stock  of  ore  it  netted  me  the  hand- 
some sum  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  above  all  ex- 
penses, including  a  bonus  of  six  hundred  dollars  which 
I  presented  to  the  head  miner  for  his  words  of  en- 
couragement at  a  dark  time. 

The  rocky  ledge  proving  very  hard  to  work,  as  soon 
as  the  pocket  was  finished  I  made  up  my  mind  to  sell 
out  before  I  lost  my  thirty  thousand  dollars  in  blasting 
worthless  stone.  The  English  company  had  tried  to  buy 
me  out,  as  my  ledge  ran  in  the  direction  of  the  old  Spanish 
mine  of  Valenciana,  and  they  thought  it  would  strik  e 
that  mine  and  prove  a  fortune— the  Valenciana  mir^e 
had  been  ruined  in  consequence  of  the  miners  tapping 
water  which  had  flooded  the  mine. 

One  afternoon  I  was  sitting  near  my  mine,  when  I  was 
apjjroached  by  Mr.  Glennmg,  wiio  wished  to  have  me 
fix  a  price  for  my  claim.  After  some  little  parley  he 
offered  me  fifteen  thousand  dollars  for  the  mine,  and, 
said  I,  "  It's  your  mine."  I  then  went  with  him  to  the 
first  judge  of  the  mining  district  and  made  the  English 
company  a  transfer  in  writing  of  the  mine,  the  ore  taken 
out  which  I  had  not  used,  and  all  the  tools.  The  com- 
pany paid  the  Mexican  tax  of  five  per  cent,  on  the  pur- 
chase money,  and  I  gave  them  possession  immediately 
on  receipt  of  the  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  The  com- 
pany went  to  work  at  once  on  the  mine,  spending  a  large 
amount  of  money  on  it,  but  never  realized  one-half  of 
what  they  paid  me  for  it. 


LOSSES   BY   MINING.  203 

I  now  had  forty-ciglit  thousand  dollars,  including 
what  I  had  laid  up  from  my  work,  after  making  liand- 
some  presents  to  each  of  my  miners,  for  they  had 
worked  faitlifully  for  me,  and  was  out  of  debt.  Making 
so  much,  and  so  easily,  out  of  mining,  set  me  lialf- 
crazy  upon  the  subject.  Getting  a  compass,  I  went  into 
the  mouth  of  the  English  company's  mine  at  Luce,  and 
taking  tlie  direction  of  the  lead,  and  also  observing  the 
direction  of  the  air-shafts  which  tapped  the  mine,  and 
also  being  positive  that  a  mine  hardly  ever  varies  from 
its  regular  course  as  once  ascertained,  I  went  out  half  a 
mile  beyond  the  company's  limits  and  commenced 
sinking  a  shaft,  intending  to  strike  their  ledge  beyond 
their  claim.  In  this  enterprise  I  had  a  partner  named 
William  Smith.  As  we  went  down  we  found  quartz, 
but  it  was  poor  and  as  hard  as  a  flint.  Drilling  and 
other  labor  was  very  expensive,  and  we  now,  almost  in 
sight  of  the  coveted  prize,  found  that  our  mon<'y  was 
out  and  we  were  helpless.  I  was  anxious  to  go  to  Mex- 
ico and  try  to  raise  more  funds  and  push  on,  but  my 
partner's  courage  failed,  and  he  was  anxious  to  aban- 
don the  enterprise. 

The  English  company,  knowing  that  we  were  bound 
to  strike  their  ledge,  if  we  continued  operations,  came 
and  offered  us  eight  thousand  dollars  to  discharge  our 
men  and  cease  work,  and  we  sold  out  to  them. 

That  was  quite  enough  mining  for  me  in  that  locality. 
Tlie  English  company  went  to  work  forthwith,  and  at  a 
depth  of  five  yards  further  than  where  my  mi^n  left  off, 
they  struck  ore  worth  two  thousand  dollars  a  ton.  They 
have  since  taken  out  ore  to  the  value  of  several  millions 
of  dollars,  at  that  point  the  mine  proving  as  rich  as  the 
original,  a  mile  and  a  half  distant.  The  mine  is  owned 
by  English  lords,  who  have  gained  control  over  a  large 
14 


204  EXTENSIVE    MINES. 

section  of  that  country.  They  mine  in  half  a  dozen  dif- 
ferent states,  keeping  at  tlieir  head-quarters  in  Guan- 
axuato  a  worldng  capital  of  four  millions  of  dollars.  If 
they  lose  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  one  place  they 
soon  make  it  up  in  another.  They  also  carry  on  exten- 
sive commercial  transactions,  and  have  their  own  ships 
on  the  sea.  They  have  large  mining  works  at  Zacatecas, 
owning  two  important  mines  there.  Witliin  thirty -five 
miles  of  Zacatecas  they  own  a  mine  called  the  Fresnillo ; 
one  in  the  state  of  Durango,  called  Sombrerete,  which 
yields  immense  profits,  also  several  other  smaller  mines 
in  that  vicinity. 

At  Guadaloupe-y-Calvo  they  have  another  mine,  and 
between  Saltillo  and  San  Louis  Potosi,  they  work  sev- 
eral mines,  which,  together,  take  the  name  of  Rial  la 
Catosa,  meaning  mining  district.  There  the  ore  has 
been  taken  out  leaving  pillars  of  rock  bearing  metal 
twelve  or  fifteen  yards  in  circumference  to  sustain  the 
roof  against  the  enormous  pressure  of  the  mountain 
overhead. 

Trains  drive  under  the  mountain  or  into  it,  nearly 
three  hundred  yards  to  load  up  with  ore.  At  Rial  del 
Monta,  a  little  off  the  road  from  Guanaxuato  to  Mexico, 
is  another  mine  owned  by  this  company,  at  which  the 
silver  is  extracted  by  a  blastfurnace. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  o;rpat  California  gold  fever  had  about  this  time 
(1849)  broke  out  among  the  Mexicans.      It  was 
raging  all  around  me  and  I  became  infected  with  the 
disease !     I  gathered  together  my  effects  and  started 
for  California.     Tliieves  being  numerous  and  danger- 
ous, I  put  on  my  rough  clothes,  stitched  my  eight 
thousand  dollars  into  a  Mexican  pack-saddle,  and  took 
the  route  up  through  Durango,  by  way  of  Zacatecas, 
passing  through  the  state  and  town  of  Aguas  Calientes, 
the  most  beautiful  section  in  Mexico.     The  name  means 
*'hot  waters,"  and  is  derived  from  a  famous  spring, 
coming  out  of  the  side  of  the  mountain,  which  is  sul- 
l^hurous  and  hot  enough  to  cook  an  egg  or  scald  a 
chicken.     By  its  side,  only  ten  steps  distant,  is  a  spring 
so  pure  and  so  cold  as  to  make  the  teeth  chatter  wliile 
drinking.     The  water  from  the  springs  is  carried  down 
into  the  city  by  parallel  pipes,  which  run  along  the 
eaves  of  the  houses,  and  furnish  every  house  with  hot 
and  cold  water.     The  pressure  is  sufficient  to  throw 
the  water  into  the  air,  to  descend  in  showers  of  drops 
like  rain,  as  it  is  frequently  seen  to  do  on  the  streets, 
and  in  yards  and  gardens.     In  the  Public  Square  is  a 
large  pool  of  cold  water  with  a  fountain  alwnys  play- 
ing into  it.     There  are  public,  bath-houses,  where  for  a 
nominal  sum  a  man  can  enjoy  the  benefit  of  hot  and 
cold  water,  and  temper  the  bath  to  suit  himself     This 
city  has  about  fifteen  tliousand  inhabitants,  and  is  sur- 
rounded with  orchards  and  handsome  farms,  and  the 


206  MAYOS   AND   YAGUIS. 

city  itself  is  very  well  built.  After  leaving  Aguas 
Calientes,  I  went  to  Zacatecas,  where  I  found  tlie 
cliolera  was  making  deadly  liavoc  among  the  natives. 
This  was  in  the  early  part  of  1850. 

Thence  I  proceeded  to  the  city  of  Durango,  where 
I  bought  a  set  of  cooking  utensils  and  some  other  nec- 
essary supplies,  put  them  on  my  pack  mule,  and  set 
out  on  the  old  king's  road  for  the  port  of  Mazatlan,  in 
the  adjoining  State  of  Cinaloa.  The  last  three  days  of 
the  journey  was  over  a  very  crooked  road,  often 
nearly  as  steep  as  a  flight  of  stairs,  from  the  heights 
of  the  Sierra  Madre  range  westward  almost  to  the  sea, 
through  heavy  forests  of  pine,  &c.,  where  there  were 
no  inhabitants.  This  road,  so  miserably  poor,  is  the 
only  highway  from  Mazatlan  to  Durango  ;  and  all  the 
goods  shipped  from  the  former  port  to  the  interior 
must  go  over  this  road  on  pack  mules  as  far  as  Duran- 
go, from  which  point  they  are  often  distributed  in 
wagons. 

From  Mazatlan  I  started  up  the  country  for  Culiacan, 
where  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  Don  Francisco  Vega, 
the  governor  of  the  State.  I  asked  him,  previous  to 
starting  further  north,  if  it  was  dangerous  to  go  up 
into  Sonora,  through  the  Indian  tribes  of  Mayos  and 
Yasuis,  called  from  the  rivers  of  those  names.  He 
said  they  were  rather  unfriendly  to  strangers,  but  he 
would  give  me  a  letter  to  the  chief  of  the  Yaguis,  who 
commanded  both  tribes.  The  two  rivers  where  I  was 
to  travel  were  about  twenty  miles  apart,  and  running 
nearly  parallel.  It  was  on  the  head  waters  of  this 
river  Yagui,  in  among  the  mountains  on  the  boundary 
between  Chihuahua  and  Sonora  that  we  had  that  fa- 
mous fight  several  years  before  with  the  Apaches,  when 
we  destroyed  one  of  their  villages.      To  the  wonder- 


A   CHOLERA   INCIDENT,  207 

fully  rich  country  in  the  vicinity  of  that  beautiful 
lake  I  have  spoken  of  in  a  former  chapter,  it  is  possible 
that  Brigliam  Young  may  move  the  Mormons,  if  they 
should  lind  Utah  too  civilized  for  them  and  be  com- 
pelled to  leave  for  some  more  favored  region. 

While  I  was  at  Culiacan,  a  peculiar  incident  of  the 
cholera  occurred.  The  people  were  dying  so  rapidly 
that  there  was  no  time  for  digging  graves.  Trenches 
were  dug,  the  dead  were  carried  to  them  in  wagons  and 
carts,  thrown  in  and  covered  with  quicklime.  One 
driver  took  a  load  of  bodies  out  of  town,  and  among 
them  was  an  old  acquaintance  of  his,  whom  he  tum- 
bled into  the  trench  with  the  rest,  and  threw  on  his 
lime.  While  he  had  gone  back  to  town  for  more 
bodies,  this  acquaintance,  who  was  in  a  stupor,  recov- 
ered consciousness  and  started  on  his  way  back  to 
town.  When  the  driver,  who  had  now  filled  his  cart 
and  was  on  his  way  to  the  trench,  arrived  within  about 
a  hundred  yards  of  his  destination,  he  came  suddenly 
upon  his  ghostly  friend,  — his  supposed  dead  acquain- 
tance,—  and  he  was  so  badly  frightened  that  he 
jumped  from  his  cart,  left  it  in  the  road,  ran  back  to 
town  in  all  haste,  took  the  cholera  himself  and  died 
the  next  day.  I  have  often  since  that  time  s«^en  "Old 
Jim,"  the  supposed  corpse,  peddling  candy  in  the 
streets  of  Culiacan. 

From  Culiacan  I  went  on  up  to  the  town  of  Cinaloa, 
on  the  Cinaloa  river.  Thence  to  Villa  del  Fuei-te,  on 
the  Fuerte  river ;  a  very  swift  stream,  which,  running 
from  the  mountains  to  the  Gulf  of  California,  is 
throughout  its  entire  length  the  boundary  between  the 
States  of  Cinaloa  and  Sonora.  At  the  mouth  of  the 
Fuerte  river,  which  is  navigable  some  distance  for 
boats,  is  the  port  of  Omaha,  where  goods  are  landed 


208  STEANGE  FOOD. 

for  the  back  country.  I  crossed  tliis  river  in  a  canoe, 
swimming  my  mules,  tliough  the  river  was  not  high. 
Thence  I  went  to  Alamos,  which  is  on  a  branch  of  the 
Mayo  river,  about  twenty  miles  from  the  main  river. 
This  is  one  of  the  richest  mining  regions  in  the  State 
of  Sonora.  The  mines  were  chiefly  owned  by  four 
brothers,  who  were  immensely  wealthy.  They  took 
sides,  strangely,  in  favor  of  Maximilian  and  what  were 
called  the  ISIexican  Imperial  laws,  and  when  the  empire 
afterwards  went  down,  I  learned  that  they  were  shot, 
and  their  property  confiscated.  Shortly  after  I  was 
there,  a  great  waterspout  carried  away  half  the  town, 
filling  up  and  ruining  all  the  mines  that  were  opened, 
and  causing  a  landslide  which  exposed  new  and  very 
rich  mines. 

From  there  I  went  to  Rio  Mayo,  in  the  Mayo  nation. 
The  Indians  of  that  tribe  all  talk  Spanish.  I  inquired 
for  their  chief,  when  they  answered  that  he  lived  about 
twelve  miles  distant,  on  the  Yagui  river  and  asked  if 
I  knew  him.  I  told  them  I  did  not,  but  had  a  letter 
for  him,  and  had  some  business  to  transact  with  him. 
They  took  my  horse  and  pack  mule  and  fed  them, 
treating  me  very  kindly  ;  and  finding  that  I  was  hun- 
gry, they  cooked  me  some  supper.  After  I  had 
finished,  they  asked  me  if  I  knew  what  I  had  been 
eating,  and  I  replied  that  I  took  it  to  be  fish.  They 
said  it  was  blacksnake  !  It  was  too  late  then  to  make 
a  fuss  about  it,  and  really  I  thought  it  the  sweetest, 
nicest  kind  of  food,  for  it  was  very  white,  and  in  taste 
resembled  catfish.  They  had  plenty  of  that  kind  of 
provisions,  for  blacksnakes  of  enormous  size  were 
plenty  among  them,  and  it  appeared  to  be  their  favor- 
ite dish.  They  gave  me  a  comfortable  hut  to  sleep  in 
that  night,  and  the  next  morning  one  of  the  Indians 


CHOLERA   PATIENTS.  209 

escorted  me  over  to  Mateo,  tlie  chief.  I  found  liini  at 
a  nice  little  Indian  town,  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  in  a 
splendid  country.  He  could  talk  Sjianish,  l)ut  could 
neither  read  or  write.  lie  sent  for  a  better  educated 
Indian  who  could  read  the  letter,  and  who  told  him  it 
was  from  the  governor  of  Cinaloa.  I  was  then  treated 
like  a  gentleman,  for  they  brought  me  watermelons 
and  other  fruits ;  and  during  the  repast,  the  old  chief 
asked  me  if  I  knew  any  thing  about  medicine.  Several 
of  his  tribe  living  near  by  were  down  with  the  cholera. 
An  American  doctor  in  Culiacan,  a  worthy  physician, 
had  given  me  some  medicine,  and  I  liad  bought  some 
more  for  poor  people  on  the  road,  so  that  I  had  a  good 
supply.  I  told  the  chief  I  would  do  what  I  could  for 
his  sick  people,  and  calling  for  a  lot  of  mustard,  the 
natives  soon  gathered  a  quantit}^  of  green  mustard 
seed  on  the  river  bank..  It  was  pounded  fine,  and 
mustard  plasters  put  on  the  stomachs  of  the  patients, 
some  mustard  tea  given  them,  and  mustard  baths  or- 
dered for  their  feet.  This  treatment  perhaps  saved  the 
lives  of  a  number ;  at  all  events,  those  who  followed 
my  directions  recovered,  and  their  friends  could  not  do 
enough  for  me.  I  staid  there  two  weeks,  and  was 
never  better  treated  in  my  life.  They  had  large  tlocks 
of  sheep,  and  an  abundance  of  fish  in  the  river. 
When  I  left,  the  chief  gave  me  a  horse,  and  sent  an 
escort  with  me  to  Guaymas.  The  Yagui  is  navigable 
sixty  miles  from  its  month,  and  for  that  distance  is 
never  frozen  over.  From  its  head  waters  the  Indians 
bring  down  much  gold,  though  they  dare  not  venture 
far  into  the  mountains  for  fear  of  the  Apaches. 

From  this  Indian  village  I  went  to  Guaymas,  about 
seventy-five  miles  distant.  I  ofiVn-ed  to  pay  my  Indian 
escort  of  four  men,  but  th(y  rejilied  that  their  tribe 


210  POISONING  AEROWS. 

was  under  obligations  to  me,  that  they  had  only  done 
me  a  slight  favor,  and  as  their  chief  had  not  author- 
ized them  to  receive  pay  they  could  not  do  so.  Guay- 
mas  has  a  beautiful  harbor,  so  protected  by  higli  hills 
as  to  be  perfectly  safe,  and  is  deep  enough  anywhere 
for  a  man-of-war  to  anchor,  as  the  shallowest  place  has 
about  eight  fathoms  water.  Back  of  the  city  is  a 
mountain  which  breaks  off  the  north  wind.  About 
twenty -five  miles  distant  is  a  valuable  guano  island, 
from  which  large  amounts  of  guano  are  shipped  to 
England. 

About  seventy -five  miles  further  north  I  arrived  at 
Hermosillo.  In  that  vicinity  I  got  acquainted  with  a 
tribe  of  Indians  I  had  never  seen  or  heard  of  before, 
called  the  Ceres.  They  were  formerly  very  hostile  to- 
ward the  Mexicans,  and  were  a  lazy,  dirty  race,  living 
principally  on  the  coast,  and  feeding  mainly  on  sea 
lions,  porpoises,  sharks,  and  different  kinds  of  fish. 
When  they  were  at  war  with  the  Mexicans,  they  used 
poisoned  arrows,  so  virulent  that  whenever  one  of  them 
broke  the  skin  it  was  certain  deatli.  Their  mode  of 
poisoning  their  arrows  was  to  get  a  liver  of  a  shark  or 
some  animal,  and  let  a  rattlesnake  bite  it  several  times ; 
then  leaving  it  in  the  sun  till  it  became  perfectly  green, 
they  would  stick  the  points  of  their  arrows  into  it, 
soaking  them  in  the  deadly  poison  till  they  were 
thoroughly  infected.  Hermosillo  is  the  principal  town 
of  the  State  of  Sonora.  It  contains  thirty -five  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  is  situated  on  a  small  river  in  the 
midst  of  a  fine  cotton  region  ;  it  has  a  large  steam  and 
other  flouring  mills,  and  does  more  business  than  any 
other  town  in  Sonora.  It  is  situated  about  seventy -five 
miles  from  the  coast,  and  has  a  beautiful  temperate 
climate.     It  is  a  great  wheat  producing  region,  with 


CATTLE   SPECULATION.  211 

abundance  of  fertile  soil,  and  its  markets  abound  with 
apples,  peaches,  pears,  grapes,  oranges,  and  other 
fruits,  all  grown  in  the  vicinity.  A  survey  has  been 
made  for  a  l^ranch  railroad  from  this  place  to  connect 
W'ith  tlie  Southern  Pacilic  railroad. 

At  Hermosillo  I  met  several  Americans  from  Califor- 
nia, among  them  Captain  Ankrim,  David  Brown,  and 
Thomas  Smith,  They  said  cattle  were  very  high  in 
California,  and  they  had  come  into  Sonora  to  buy 
Bome.  As  they  could  not  speak  Spanish,  they  hired 
me  to  interpret  for  tliem.  As  they  represented  that 
money  could  be  made  on  cattle,  and  were  very  anxious 
to  have  me  go  on  with  them,  I  bought  four  hundred 
and  fifty  head,  and  putting  them  with  those  of  my 
friends,  we  started  with  our  drove  of  twenty-five  hun- 
dred cattle  for  California.  We  had  purchased  good 
beef  cattle  at  an  average  price  of  ten  dollars  per  head. 

At  a  town  called  Altar,  near  the  northern  boundary 
line  of  Sonora,  we  engaged  twenty  vaqueros,  or  Mexi- 
can herdsmen,  and  bought  jerked  beef,  and  bread,  and 
pinola  (which  is  ground  parched  corn)  to  eat  on  the 
w^ay  when  cooking  would  be  inconvenient.  We  also 
purchased  a  lot  of  jackasses  to  use  in  place  of  pack 
mules  ;  eight  of  w^hich  I  required  for  my  use,  and  for 
my  men.  A  number  of  Mexican  men,  women,  and 
children,  who  were  poor  people  going  to  California, 
joined  our  company  for  their  own  protection.  We 
had  for  a  guide,  a  Mexican  who  had  come  over  the 
road  from  California  to  Hermosillo  with  the  three  other 
owners  of  the  stock. 

A  part  of  our  route  lay  through  a  sandy  country, 
destitute  of  rivers  or  springs.  On  tlie  route  is  a  great 
rock,  with  a  cavity  which  is  so  large  that  in  the  rainy 
season  it  fills  up,  and  supplies  water  for  travelers  the 


212  TRACKING  THIEVES. 

year  round.  It  was  a  liundred  and  sixty  or  a  liundred 
and  seventy  miles  from  Altar,  and  eight  miles  from  our 
last  watering  place.  We  could  drink  at  the  rock  our- 
selves, and  bring  w^ater  enough  for  our  mules,  horses, 
and  jacks ;  but  our  cattle  had  to  go  dry,  and  before 
us  was  a  stretch  of  sixty  miles  of  sandy  desert  without 
a  drop  of  water  that  we  knew  of,  or  a  blade  of  grass. 
The  desert  was  also  subject  to  sand  storms,  which  blew 
the  fine  sand  up  in  clouds  like  a  fog,  and  swept  it  over 
the  road,  obliterating  all  tracks,  and  maldng  traveling 
by  compass  necessary.  We  had  no  fears  for  our  jacks, 
for  they  can  forage  for  a  living.  A  bundle  of  rags,  or 
a  deck  of  cards  is  a  fine  lunch  for  one  of  them.  The 
morning  after  leaving  the  watering  place,  there  was 
great  complaint  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  hats. 
The  jacks  had  been  around  and  eaten  up  ten  of  the 
Mexicans  broad-brimmed  straw  hats,  besides  a  lot 
of  our  bread  and  pinola. 

While  the  Mexicans  were  lamentmg  the  loss  of  their 
hats,  I  discovered  a  greater  loss.  I  missed  two  of  my 
jacks,  and  while  trying  to  track  them,  I  saw  the  moc- 
casin tracks  of  two  Indians.  Taking  a  Mexican  along 
with  me,  we  rode  about  four  miles,  tracking  the  Indian^ 
easily,  and  then  on  seeing  a  smoke  among  the  hills,  we 
dismounted,  and  creeping  around,  saw  one  of  the 
Apaches  roasting  a  steak  which  he  had  cut  from  one  of 
my  jacks,  which  he  had  killed.  The  other  Indian  had 
started  for  a  stream  of  water  close  by.  I  told  the  Mexi- 
can to  attend  to  this  one,  while  I  crawled  up  near  the  In- 
dian by  the  fire  and  shot  him  in  the  back.  He  fell  for- 
ward on  his  face  into  the  fire,  with  his  jackass  meat. 
The  otlier  one  escajjed  fi'om  the  Mexican,  but  we  secur- 
ed the  stolen  jack  that  remained,  and  returned  to 
camp,  glad  indeed  to  find  water  for  our  stock.     On  re- 


AN   OUTRAGEOUS   FERRY   COMPANY.  213 

flection,  I  felt  sorry  that  I  liad  shot  tlu;  Indian,  as  his 
tlieft  had  led  me  to  discover  water  sufficient  to  save 
many  of  our  animals,  who  were  suffering.  We  sent 
back  and  picked  up  fifty  or  sixty  cattle  that  had  giv<'n 
out  by  tlui  way,  got  them  up  and  they  joined  the  herd, 
when  they  were  all  safely  driven  to  the  stream  of  water. 
We  remained  there  two  days  resting  and  recruiting  tlie 
stock,  and  then  started  for  Foi-t  Yuma,  on  the  Colorado 
river.  We  arrived  there  the  second  day  after  leaving 
the  stream  that  saved  our  stock. 

Upon  arriving  at  the  Colorado  river,  we  found  that 
the  Indians  had  imi:>rovised  a  ferry  boat,  by  making  a 
government  wagon  body  water  tight,  and  we  crossed 
in  this  boat,  six  miles  below  the  fort,  swimming  our 
animals  over.  There  had  been  a  regular  ferry  a  mile 
or  so  below  the  fort,  but  it  had  been  destroyed,  and  its 
owners,  twenty-five  in  number,  slaughtered  by  the 
Indians,  except  two  persons  Avho  escaped.  The  men 
killed  were  Texan  desperadoes,  and  their  massacre  was 
the  best  thing  the  Indians  ever  did.  These  despe- 
radoes, under  Dr.  Craig,  left  Texas  in  1849,  and  cross- 
ing over  to  Chihuahua,  obtained  leave  of  the  governor 
of  that  state  to  fight  the  Indians  for  all  they  could 
take  from  them.  The  governor  also  furnished  tlu-m 
with  arms,  ammunition,  and  money.  Just  before 
leaving  Sonora,  they  assassinated  some  Mexicans,  rob- 
bed them  of  their  money,  took  as  mucli  of  their  stock 
as  they  needed,  went  on  to  Fort  Yuma  and  established 
a  ferry.  Here  they  carried  matters  with  a  liigh  hand. 
It  was  not  safe  for  a  Mexican  woman  to  cross  the  ferry, 
and  after  a  time  they  extended  their  outrages  to  the 
neighboring  tribe  of  Indians,  taking  the  women  pris- 
oners and  keeping  them  in  camp  as  long  as  they 
pleased.     The  attack  which  wiped  out  this  miserable 


214  RETRIBUTION. 

band  was  planned  by  two  young  Mexicans,  who  had 
attempted  to  cross  the  ferry  with  their  wives,  and  had 
tliem  taken  from  them  and  detained  by  the  Texans. 
The  Mexicans  went  down  the  river,  and  the  desper- 
adoes supposed  they  had  gone  on  their  way  and  left 
their  wives  in  theii'  hands.  But  they  only  went  far 
enough  to  tind  the  chief  of  the  tribe,  who  had  suffered 
so  horribly  at  the  hands  of  the  gang,  and  arrange  for 
an  attack  on  their  common  enemy.  The  attack  was 
made  as  follows :  One  day  a  number  of  the  Indians, 
who  were  not  a  hunting  tribe  to  any  great  extent,  but 
lived  by  fishing  and  raising  some  vegetables,  went  into 
camp  as  usual,  and  mixed  freely  with  the  whites,  who 
were  in  the  habit  of  trading  with  them.  There  was  a 
large  body  of  Indians,  together  with  the  two  Mexicans, 
concealed  under  the  high  bank  of  the  river,  who,  on  a 
given  signal  from  those  in  camp,  rushed  in  and  with 
clubs  and  knives  soon  killed  twenty -three  out  of  the 
twenty -five  whites,  including  Dr.  Craig,  with  very  little 
loss  to  themselves.  This  was  about  a  month  before  we 
arrived,  and  two  or  three  days  before  the  arrival  of 
Captain  Hooper  at  Fort  Yuma,  with  a  company  of 
United  States  dragoons.  No  effort  was  ever  made  to 
punish  the  Indians  for  this  uprising  against  their  law- 
less miserable  persecutors.  A  few  days  after  Captain 
Hooper's  arrival,  the  two  escaped  desperadoes  came  to 
him  with  a  complaint  against  the  Indians  for  the  mas- 
sacre of  their  companions.  Captain  Hooper  being 
well  posted  as  to  their  doings,  clapj^ed  the  two  men 
into  irons  and  sent  them  to  California  for  trial. 

We  gave  the  Indians  two  beeves  for  helping  ourselves 
and  cattle  across  the  river  ;  and  we  laid  there  six  days 
to  recruit  our  cattle,  for  we  found  good  grass  in  the 
bottoms  of  the  Rio  Colorado.     While  here  encamped, 


HATS   SUPPLIED. 


215 


I  took  the  unfortunate  liatless  Mexicans  to  the  sutler  s 
store  at  the  Ibrt  and  furnished  them  with  hats,  as  they 
had  traveled  all  this  distance  in  the  burning  sun  with 
handkerchiefs  tied  over  their  heads. 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

AT  Fort  Yuma  I  met  a  very  large  Irish  woman  called 
"  The  Great  Western,"  whom  I  had  seen  at  Sal- 
tillo,  when  I  went  there  with  Colonel  Doniphan.  She 
was  noted  as  a  camp  follower  in  the  Mexican  war,  was 
liked  universally  for  her  kind  motherly  ways,  and  at 
the  battle  of  Buena  Vista  busied  herself  in  making 
cartridges  for  the  army.  I  made  myself  known  to  her, 
and  she  was  very  glad  to  see  me.  She  complained  that 
Fort  Yuma  was  the  hardest  place  to  procure  any  fresh 
supplies  that  she  had  ever  seen,  and  begged  me  to  sell 
her  a  beef.  I  sent  her  one  as  a  present.  She  died  at 
Fort  Yuma  in  1863. 

One  day  while  we  were  in  camp,  we  saw  a  number  of 
Indians  running  up  the  river  bank  towards  us,  mani- 
festly in  a  great  fright.  When  they  got  near  enough  to 
talk,  they  told  us  the  devil  was  coming  up  the  river, 
blowing  fire  and  smoke  out  of  his  nose  and  kicking 
back  with  his  feet  in  the  water,  and  they  would  all  be 
eaten  up.  They  asked  us  what  they  had  better  do,  and 
as  we  had  not  learned  how  to  escape  that  individual 
ourselves,  we  could  not  tell  them,  and  they  hurried  on 
to  report  to  Captain  Hooper  and  take  his  advice,  which 
they  wished  given  hastily,  as  the  devil  was  coming  very 
fast.  By  this  time  the  Indians  were  abandoning  their 
fields  and  hastening  to  the  fort  from  every  direction. 
Captain  Hooper  did  not  know  what  they  were  trying  to 
describe,  but  he  knew  that  a  stc^amboat  liad  be^^n  or- 
dered to  come  up  the  river  from  the  gulf  with  }iis  sup- 


PERILS   OF    THE   DESERT.  217 

plies,  and  going  up  on  a  hill  with  a  spj^-glass  he  saw 
the  smoke  above  the  trees  beyond  a  b(^nd  in  tlie  river. 
He  came*  down  and  explained  matters  to  the  Indians  ; 
but  it  was  a  long  time  before  he  could  get  them  to  ven- 
ture near  enougli  to  look  at  the  boat  when  she  landed. 
Then  the  men  went  after  their  squaws,  hidden  in  the 
brush,  and  prevailed  on  them  to  come  and  view  the 
steamer.     She  was  named  the  Yuma,  after  their  tribe, 
and  this  was  the  tirst  steamer  that  ever  run  in  those 
waters.     Now  three  or  four  boats  are  running  up  that 
river  and  the  Indians  supply  them  with  many  products 
of  their  labor.     They  often  laugh  over  their  steamboat 
fright,  and  the  chief   especially  enjoys  the  joke  and 
says  the  white  men  know  much  more  than  the  Indians. 
From  Fort  Yuma  we  started  again,  going  by  way  of 
New  River  and  having  to  pass  through  a  desert  of  sand 
sixty  miles  across,  with  water  only  at  one  place,  and 
that  a  small    pool  hardly  fit  to  drink.     In  passing 
through  this  desert  we  came  upon  the  remains  of  an 
emigrant  train,  which  a  month  previous  had  attempted 
to  cross  this  desert  in  going  from  the  United  States  to 
California.      While  passing  over  the  desert  they  had 
been  met  by  a  sand-storm  and  lost  the  road  by  the  sand 
blowing  over  it,  and  had  wandered  off  into  the  hills. 
They  had  finally  got  back  into  the  road ;  but  by  that 
time  they  were  worn  out,  and  they  perished  of  fatigue 
and  thirst.     In  their  wanderings  off  the  road  they  had 
gone  to  one  side  and  past  the  little  pool  of  water,  as 
we  could  see  by  the  wagons  they  had  abandoned.    The 
missing  of  the  water  was  fatal  to  them,  as  they  had 
been  two  or  three  days  without  water,  and  had  yet 
thirty  miles  to  go  before  reaching  a  fertile  region.     We 
could  see  where   they  had  lightened  their  loads  by 
abandoning  goods,  but  still  their  cattle  had  been  obliged 


218  MURDEE   OF  A   MEXICAN. 

to  yield  to  the  terrible  tliirst.  Tliere  were  eight  women 
and  children,  and  nine  men.  The  body  of  a  child  had 
been  almost  stripped  of  flesh  by  the  buzzards  and  ani- 
mals, and  its  clothes  were  torn  off;  but  most  of  the 
other  bodies  had  their  clothes  on.  Some  of  the  bodies 
were  in  the  road  and  others  at  a  little  distance,  as  if 
they  had  been  returning  to  the  road  and  they  had  all 
sunk  down  together  exhausted,  and  lay  there  in  the 
same  position  as  when  they  fell. 

A  squad  of  soldiers  from  Fort  Yuma  overtook  us 
at  the  pool,  on  their  way  to  bury  these  unfortunate  peo- 
ple, and  we  left  them  at  their  v/ork,  for  we  had  to 
hasten  onward  as  our  cattle  were  now  suffering  badly. 
The  soldiers  said  they  should  take  the  property  of  these 
emigrants  back  to  the  fort,  and  institute  proper  in- 
quiries to  ascertain  who  were  their  relatives  and  friends 
at  the  east ;  with  what  success  I  never  learned. 

We  traveled  that  day  and  night,  and  the  next  fore- 
noon arrived  at  a  small  lake  at  the  head  of  New  River. 
The  next  morning  a  difficulty  arose  between  Dave 
Brown,  who  was  one  of  our  stock  owners,  and  one  of 
the  Mexicans.  The  result  was  that  Dave  shot  and 
killed  the  Mexican.  We  buried  the  poor  man,  and 
blamed  Mr,  Brown  very  much,  for  he  had  no  justifiable 
provocation  for  the  deed.  The  Mexican  herdsmen  felt 
quite  aggrieved  by  the  affair,  and  asked  me  what  could 
be  done  ;  but  I  persuad(^d  them  to  wait  till  we  arrived 
in  California  before  making  any  trouble  about  it.  The 
next  water  was  twelve  miles  from  this  lake.  Before 
reaching  it  we  met  a  Mexican  who  warned  us  to  be  sure 
to  keep  our  stock  out  of  that  water,  or  we  would  lose 
them  all,  as  the  water  was  very  poisonous.  A  weed 
grows  in  the  edges,  and  any  animal  eating  it  dies.  The 
poison  mainly  comes  from  mineral  matter,  for  there  are 


DIVISION    OF    STOCK.  219 

green,  filthy  springs  drii)piiig  into  it,  probably  charged 
with  copjx'ras.  Along  the  edges  of  this  creek  were 
hundreds  of  skeletons  of  sheep  wliich  had  perished  out 
of  a  large  drove  that  were  passing  over  this  route  some 
time  before,  bound  for  California.  A  little  al)ove  the 
creek,  to  tlie  right  of  the  road,  we  found  a  spring  of 
good  water,  of  which  we  drank  and  gave  to  oui*  riding 
and  pack  animals  ;  but  there  was  none  for  our  cattle. 
Twelve  miles  further  on  we  came  to  a  valley  with  many 
springs  and  fine  grass  for  our  cattle.  We  found  an 
American  there  putting  up  a  station.  We  also  found 
there  a  dirty  lot  of  Indians  called  Diggers,  who  sleep 
in  the  dirt  like  hogs,  and  live  on  rabbits,  rats,  lizards, 
toads,  snakes,  and  any  other  animal  food  they  can  get, 
besides  eating  a  black,  bitter  kind  of  acorns.  This  was 
not  far  from  Vallecito, 

Four  days  after,  we  arrived  in  San  Diego  county, 
eighteen  miles  from  the  port  of  San  Diego,  Avliere  we 
staid  a  month  recruiting  our  stock ;  and  m  the  mean- 
time I  went  down  to  the  port  to  purchase  supplies. 
After  recruiting  our  stock  we  v/ent  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty miles  up  the  coast  to  El  Monte,  which  was  in  Los 
Angeles  county.  The  buildings  of  this  place  looked 
very  ancient,  and  the  inhabitants  were  ignorant  and 
vicious,  caring  for  neither  law  or  gospel.  At  El 
Monte  I  separated  my  stock  from  that  of  Messrs. 
Brown,  Smith,  and  Ankrim.  This  Dave  Brown,  being 
a  regular  desperado,  went  eight  miles  to  Los  Angeles, 
gambled  off  all  his  stock,  got  into  a  dispute  with  a 
Mexican  over  a  game  of  cards,  and  shot  liim.  He  was 
put  into  jail  by  the  Americans,  partly  through  fear  of 
his  being  assassinated.  In  the  night  a  large  body  of 
Mexicans  gathen^d,  took  Brown  from  th<^  jail,  and 
hung  him  to  the  top  of  the  gateway  of  the  prison  yard. 
15 


220  GABE   ALLEN   AND    PEG-LEG   SMITH. 

There  were  in  Los  Angeles  about  an  equal  number  of 
Americans  and  Mexicans.  Lynch  law  was  prevalent 
over  California  at  that  time,  1851,  and  the  Americans 
made  no  objection  to  the  hanging  of  Brown,  because 
they  knew  it  was  just. 

Meeting  with  an  acquaintance  at  El  Monte,  I  hired 
him  to  superintend  the  driving  of  my  stock  to  San  Jose, 
which  town  is  a  few  miles  from  the  bay  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  about  fifty  miles  south-east  of  the  city  of 
San  Francisco.  The  drive  was  over  three  hundred 
miles,  and  I  instructed  him  to  drive  slowly  to  keep  the 
stock  in  order.  Los  Angeles  is  situated  on  a  small 
river  of  the  same  name,  thirty  miles  from  its  mouth, 
and  was  connected  with  its  port  of  San  Pedro  by  stages 
and  wagons.  It  is  now  connected  by  railroad  with  its 
present  port  of  Wilmington,  and  Los  Angeles  has 
grown  to  be  quite  a  city. 

After  seeing  my  stock  off,  I  went  to  a  hotel  in  Los 
Angeles  and  there,  to  my  surprise,  met  Peg  leg  Smith, 
and  Gabe  Allen.  After  the  first  friendly  greeting,  and 
they  had  made  many  inquiries,  I  informed  them  I  was 
going  to  San  Francisco  by  steamer.  Said  Peg-leg 
Smith  to  me,  "  Captain,  will  you  take  me  along  with 
you  V  I  assented,  and  we  got  into  a  stage  and  went  to 
San  Pedro,  where  we  went  aboard  the  steamer  Sea-Bird 
bound  for  San  Francisco.  When  the  clerk  came  around 
gathering  up  tickets.  Smith  was  sitting  with  his  head 
down,  half  drunk.  Looking  up,  the  clerk  recognized 
him,  and  said : 

"Your  ticket,  Mr.  Smith." 

"  Hold  on,"  responded  Smith,  "and  I'll  give  you  a 
ticket,"  commencing  to  unbuckle  his  wooden  leg  for  a 
fight. 

I  stepped  up  and  told  the  clerk  that  I  would  settle 


SAN  FRANCISCO.  221 

for  liis  passage.  Just  tlion  the  captain  came  along  and 
inquired  what  was  the  difficulty.  I  said,  "  None  at  all. 
Mr.  ISmitli  has  no  money  and  I  was  about  to  pay  his 
passage." 

'•Never  mind,"  said  the  captain.  "He  shall  go 
free.     I  never  charge  one-legged  men  anything." 

"Captain,"  said  tSniith,  "that's  good  enough,  let's 
take  a  drink  on  that  at  your  expense,"  which  joke 
pleased  the  captain  exceedingly. 

On  the  fourth  day  we  arrived  at  San  Francisco,  and 
went  to  a  good  hotel ;  but  it  was  nothing  like  the  mag- 
nificent hotels  that  have  since  been  erected  there. 
Everything  was  in  its  infancy  in  1851.  A  lot  of  govern- 
ment troops  had  just  arrived  there,  and  more  were  ex- 
pected. Meeting  with  a  government  contractor  at  the 
hotel  I  asked  him  what  he  was  paying  for  cattle  on  the 
foot,  grass  fed,  and  he  answered  a  "bit"  or  twelve 
and  a  half  cents  a  pound.  I  sold  him  all  my  cattle  (to 
arrive)  at  that  price,  and  when  the  cattle  got  along  a 
month  afterwards  I  found,  after  delivering  them  and 
getting  my  j^ay,  that  I  had  sixteen  thousand  dollars.  I 
did  not  know  what  to  do  Avith  my  money  after  receiv- 
ing it.  I  considered  my  life  more  in  danger  than  with 
the  Indians  on  the  plains,  for  the  city  abounded  with 
cut-throats  and  desperadoes.  I  deposited  the  sixteen 
thousand  dollars  in  Adams  &  Co.'s  bank,  for  that  com- 
pany was  banking  as  well  as  expressing  at  that  time. 

Shortly  after  I  drew  out  enough  to  pay  off  my  help 
who  had  come  through  with  my  cattle,  and  they  pro- 
posed to  start  on  an  expedition  with  me  to  the  moun- 
tains to  dig  gold.  I  finally  organized  a  party  of 
eighteen  persons,  fitted  up  a  pack  mule  train  with  pans, 
picks,  shovels,  and  all  the  necessary  outfit  for  gold- 
digging,  and  started  for  reported  rich  plucer  diggings 


222  BLACKMAILEKS. 

at  Camp  Sonora,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  south- 
east of  San  Francisco.  We  put  up  our  tents  and 
commenced  prospecting  around  in  the  gulches.  In  the 
vicinity  were  many  Chinamen,  Americans,  Spaniards, 
Frenchmen,  and  Mexicans.  Some  of  our  party  told 
me  they  had  found  a  gulch  near  by  which  paid  eight 
or  ten  cents  to  the  pan,  and  upon  examination  I  found 
it  to  be  so.  We  immediately  moved  our  tents  up  there, 
and  went  to  work  taking  out  about  six  thousand  dol- 
lars the  first  eight  days. 

My  party  being  all  Mexicans,  a  little  incident  now 
occurred  which  raised  me  very  materially  in  their  esti- 
mation. Suddenly  two  Americans  rode  up  to  our 
camp,  and  one  of  them,  who  could  speak  a  little  Spanish, 
stated  that  he  had  orders  from  the  government  to  collect 
a  tax  of  twenty  dollars  from  every  Mexican  and  Cliina- 
man  found  at  work  mining.  I  asked  him  in  Spanish 
where  his  documents  were  that  gave  him  this  authority. 
He  said  his  word  was  sufficient.  I  drew  up  vay  double- 
barrelled  gun,  and  said  :  "Now,  you  leave  here,  or  I'll 
give  you  documents.  I've  heard  of  your  kind  before." 
They  rode  away,  threatening  to  copie  back  and  collect 
the  tax. 

I  told  the  Mexicans  to  keep  their  arms  handy  by 
them,  and  do  just  as  I  bade  them.  Then  I  went  to  a 
mining  justice  of  the  peace,  not  far  off,  and  asked  him 
if  there  were  any  persons  about  there  with  authority  to 
collect  such  a  tax.  He  said  there  were  not,  but  he  had 
heard  of  those  men  and  would  like  to  get  hold  of  tliem. 
Said  I,  they  are  out  here  behind  your  house  drinking 
in  a  grocery.  He  said  he  would  like  to  arrest  them  if 
hn  could  get  anybody  to  sustain  him.  I  replied  that  I  had 
eightf^en  Mexicans,  and  that  I  would  sustain  him.  Then, 
going  down  to  my  Mexicans,  who  were  afraid  of  their 


SUMMARY   EXECUTION.  223 

lives,  I  said  to  them  :  "  You  have  put  yourselves  under 
my  charge,  and  I  will  see  you  safe  through  everything." 

There  were  nine  Americans  just  below  who  joined 
us.  We  went  up  to  the  grocery,  and,  as  we  came  near, 
saw  the  justice,  who  w-aved  his  hand  for  us  to  go 
around  the  house.  We  surrounded  it,  when  one  of  the 
men  ran  out  of  the  house,  pistol  in  hand,  and  was  in- 
stantly shot  and  killed.  The  other  gave  himself  uj), 
telling  us  that  his  name  was  Jack  Downing.  We  put 
a  rope  around  his  neck  and  hung  him  to  the  limb  of  a 
tree  that  stood  by  the  grocery.  Before  being  swung 
off  he  was  asked  if  he  had  anything  to  say,  and  his 
only  reply  was  curses. 

It  was  afterwards  ascertained  that  he  and  his  com- 
panion had  a  few  days  before  murdered  two  Chinamen 
and  a  Mexican.  The  two  men  had  four  thousand  dol- 
lars, which  they  had  collected  and  robbed  from 
ignorant  miners.  This  money  was  deposited  with  the 
justice  of  the  peace  to  pay  the  expenses  of  a  mining 
government,  wiiich  we  at  once  set  about  organizing  for 
our  mutual  benefit  and  protection. 

Our  little  village  of  mining  huts  was  a  common  even- 
ing resort  for  many  persons  who  worked  mining  for 
some  distance  around.  The  news  spread  like  wild-fire 
that  we  had  hung  one  and  shot  the  other  of  these  noted 
blackmailers,  and  the  second  night  after  the  hanging, 
about  three  hundred  men  w^ere  assembled.  We  organ- 
ized a  mining  government,  with  proper  oflicers  and 
committees,  adopting  a  constitution  and  by-laws,  one 
of  the  by-laws  providing  that  no  man  should  stay  about 
the  camp  who  had  not  some  business.  I  was  one  of  a 
commitkv  of  four  to  see  that  these  rules  were  enforced, 
and  the  following  day  we  notified  several  gamblers  and 
suspected  thieves  and  robbers  to  leave^  or  stay  and  suf- 


224  MINING   GOVERNMENT. 

fer  the  consequences.  They  left  in  a  liuny.  There- 
after the  regular  meetings  of  our  miners'  association 
were  on  Saturday  nights,  and  our  number  soon 
swelled  to  between  four  and  five  hundred.  Our  asso- 
ciation was  also  benevolent,  and  aided  any  miner  who 
was  sick,  by  taking  care  of  him,  cooking  for  him, 
or  in  contributions  of  money.  Several  desperate  char- 
acters came  in  from  time  to  time ;  but  learning  our 
laws,  and  seeing  the  tree  which  served  for  a  gallows,  it 
looked  disagreeable  to  them  and  they  left.  Following 
our  examj)le,  similar  societies  were  organized  in  other 
parts  of  California,  as  we  could  get  no  protection  from 
the  United  States,  its  few  troops  being  too  distant  and 
inaccessible  at  the  instant  wanted  in  miners'  camps. 

I  worked  there  three  months  with  the  Mexicans,  and 
when  we  divided  the  proceeds,  we  found  that  we  had 
each  made  about  three  thousand  one  hundred  dollars. 
From  the  mines  we  all  went  to  San  Francisco,  and  there 
I  found  in  port  a  vessel  named  the  Matilda,  belonging 
to  the  English  consul  at  Guaymas,  bound  for  that  port, 
and  nearly  ready  to  sail.  As  the  Mexicans  were  anxi- 
ous to  return  home,  I  saw  them  safe  aboard,  and  got 
their  money  deposited  with  the  captain,  who  gave  it  to 
them  on  their  arrival  at  Guaymas  ;  for  I  met  several  of 
them  afterwards  and  thoy  were  highly  pleased  with  the 
result  of  their  California  trip. 

The  day  after  my  companions  sailed  I  saw  a  good 
chance  to  speculate  in  sheep  in  San  Francisco.  Draw- 
ing my  funds  from  Adams  &  Co.'s  bank,  I  went  to 
close  the  trade,  which,  unfortunately,  was  broken  up 
by  a  tliird  party  offering  more  than  I  had  done  ;  and  as 
I  was  returning  to  the  bank  to  make  a  second  deposit, 
I  learned  that  the  bank  had  just  failed.  Lucky  for  me 
thought  I !     Though  I  had  over  three  thousand  dollars 


VISIT   TO   RELATIVES.  226 

deposited  in  the  safe  of  the  National  Hotel,  I  was  in 
no  mood  to  lose  the  greater  portion  of  my  hard  earn- 
ings. 

I  next  went  to  see  the  famous  quicksilver  mine  of 
New  Almaden,  twelve  miles  south  of  San  Jose  and  the 
Soda  Spring,  wliieh  is  a  curiosity  that  attracts  many 
visitors.  The  water  boils  up  precisely  like  soda,  and  is 
taken  in  bottles  to  San  Jose  for  drinking.  The  day  I 
returned  to  San  Jose  water  was  struck  in  an  Artesian 
well  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep,  and  ten  inches 
in  diauK'ter.  The  water  came  up  with  such  force  that 
if  a  man  laid  a  board  over  the  mouth  and  stood  on  it 
he  would  be  raised  up  a  foot.  Four  blind  fish  two  or 
three  inches  long,  were  thrown  out,  but  died  immedi- 
ately. At  first,  a  great  deal  of  sand  came  up,  but  the 
water  soon  cleared,  and  San  Jose  is  now  supplied  with 
water  from  this  well.  Other  Artesian  wells  were  opened 
about  this  time,  and  a  month  later  the  waters  of  a  certain 
lake,  six  miles  long  and  four  miles  across,  and  fifteen 
or  twenty  feet  in  depth,  began  to  dry  up.  The  lake 
was  situated  thirty-five  miles  from  San  Jose,  and  in  six 
weeks  had  become  perfectly  dry,  leaving  a  quantity  of 
dead  fish  in  the  bottom.  In  the  bed  of  the  lake  was 
seen  a  huge  rupture  or  crack  that  might  have  been  pro- 
duced by  an  earthquake  at  some  prior  jieriod.  There 
is  now  a  good  farm,  highly  cultivated,  ^^  licrc  the  lake 
was. 

In  the  hotel  at  San  Jose,  I  overheard  an  old  gentle- 
man in  conversation  with  another,  speak  of  my  father's 
family,  and,  being  introduced,  I  found  that  he  was 
Judge  Murray  from  Missouri,  and  knew  all  my  rela- 
tives. He  informed  me  that  I  had  a  sister  and  a  half- 
sister  living  in  Napa  Valley,  in  Napa  county,  Califor- 
nia.    This  was  great  news  for  me,  and  I  started  forth- 


226  A  HUNTING   EXPEDITION-. 

witli  to  make  them  a  visit,  arriving  at  my  sister's  house 
the  second  day,  and  she  sent  for  my  half  sister,  who 
was  married  and  lived  about  half  a  mile  distant.  It 
was  a  long  time  before  they  could  believe  that  I  was 
their  brother ;  but  I  told  them  circumstances  which 
satisfied  tliem,  and  they  were  overjoyed  at  seeing  one 
they  had  long  considered  lost.  I  also  met  many  per- 
sons in  this  valley  who  were  my  schoolmates  in  Mis- 
souri,—  among  the  rest,  three  sons  of  Ex-Governor 
Boggs,  who  had  settled  in  the  valley  with  their  father, 
each  owning  separate  ranches  and  keeping  large  herds 
of  cattle. 

After  stopping  in  tliat  neighborhood  a  month  or  so, 
having  a  good  time  among  my  friends,  we  made  up  a 
hunting  expedition,  the  party  consisting  of  Governor 
Boggs' s  sons,  and  two  schoolmates  of  mine  wlio  were 
expert  hunters.  We  started  for  Russian  river,  mount- 
ed on  pack  mules,  with  tents,  cooking  utensils,  and 
plenty  of  ammunition.  We  were  very  successful, 
killing  a  great  many  elks,  bears,  deer,  geese,  ducks, 
and  other  kinds  of  game.  There  was  a  new  settler  on 
Russian  river,  by  the  name  of  John  Cook,  who  came 
from  Missouri,  whose  farm  was  devoted  mainly  to  the 
raising  of  potatoes  ;  and  we  made  his  place  our  head- 
quarters, going  out  from  there  in  various  directions. 
He  told  us  one  day  that  the  bears  were  digging  up  his 
potatoes,  and  he  was  going  to  set  a  large  trap  which 
he  had,  to  catch  the  thief.  We  went  with  him  to  see 
the  tracks,  and  found  where  the  fence'  was  broken 
down  ;  but  the  tracks  I  told  him  were  not  tliose  of  a 
bear.  However,  we  set  the  trap  by  the  fence,  and  left 
it  covered  up,  and  returned  to  the  house.  I  was  busy 
preparing  venison  hams  that  evening,  for  my  sistera 
and  for  Governor  Boggs,  as  I  was  meat  curer  for  the 


TRAPPING  A  THIEF.  227 

party.  Wliile  laughing  and  cliatting  a])out  our  liunt- 
ing  adventures,  and  wlio  liad  killed  game  and  who  had 
not,  we  heard  a  tremendous  halloing  in  the  potatoe 
patch.  We  ran  out  to  our  trap  and  found  in  it  a 
Digger  Indian  !  His  leg  was  ruined  in  his  attempts  to 
escape.  The  trap  was  the  heaviest  kind  of  steel  trap, 
nearly  a  yard  across,  with  long,  sharp  teeth,  and 
strong  enough  to  hold  a  grizzly  bear,  I  had  to  open 
it  with  care,  for  I  saw  that  the  fellow' s  leg  was  broken  ; 
and  it  afterwards  had  to  be  amputated  at  the  knee. 
This  Indian  had  been  in  the  habit  of  stealing  a  bagfull 
of  potatoes  occasionally,  but  Mr.  Cook  was  not  troub- 
led any  further  with  him. 

We  hunted  there  several  weeks,  curing  four  or  five 
pack  loads  of  venison  and  elk,  besides  some  bear 
bacon.  The  second  day  after  we  started  for  home,  we 
stopped  at  noon  near  a  lake,  where  I  saw  some  ducks, 
and  telling  the  others  to  take  off  the  pack  saddles,  I 
started  off  with  my  double  barrel  gun  to  get  some 
fresh  ducks  to  roast  for  dinner.  I  went  into  rushes 
bordering  the  lake  that  wTre  as  high  as  my  head,  hav- 
ing both  barrels  of  my  gun  cocked,  intending  to  shoot 
one  before  the  ducks  rose  out  of  the  water  and  then 
discharge  the  other  barrel  as  they  rose.  I  was  in  a  sort 
of  trail  and  looking  over  the  tops  of  the  rushes  at  the 
birds,  when  suddenly  I  saw  standing  right  before  me, 
and  not  five  steps  distant,  a  huge  grizzly  bear !  As  he 
raised  u]i  in  front  of  -me  on  liis  hind  legs,  I  was  so 
fright(Mied  that  I  let  him  have  both  charges  of  duck 
shot  in  his  face,  and  turning,  I  ran  back  as  fast  as  pos- 
sible to  camp.  When  I  got  there,  the  boys  seeing  me 
scari'd,  asked  where  my  ducks  were,  and  I  replied 
that  there  was  the  biggest  kind  of  a  duck  down  nonv 
the  water.    The  bear  was  tearing  about,  biting  at  the 


228  SAD   FATE   OF   OIs'E   OF   OUR   PARTY. 

rushes,  and  making  considerable  noise.  After  ex- 
changing my  shot  gun  for  a  rifle,  I  went  back  with  the 
boys  to  look  after  him,  and  when  we  got  near  enough 
we  gave  him  a  regular  broadside,  which  killed  him. 
He  was  unusually  large,  and  all  that  saved  me  was  the 
double  charge  of  duck  shot,  which  accidentally  put 
out  both  liis  eyes.  After  skinning  our  bear,  and  taking 
what  meat  we  could  carry  handily,  we  started  on. 

Between  sundown  and  dark  we  halted,  and  camped 
in  the  edge  of  some  brushy  scrub  oak  on  a  hillside. 
While  we  were  at  supper,  Theodore  Boggs's  horse 
broke  the  bush  to  which  he  was  tied,  and  he  took  him 
up  the  hill  a  short  distance  to  secure  him  to  a  larger 
sapling.  Presently  we  heard  a  fearful  shriek  and  the 
growling  of  a  bear,  and  knew  that  Boggs  was  in 
trouble.  We  all  started  for  his  relief,  and  found  a 
large  bear  had  him  down.  It -was  now  so  dark  as  to 
render  it  unsafe  to  shoot  at  the  bear,  so  I  attacked  him 
with  my  knife,  and  succeeded  in  killing  him.  We 
found  poor  Boggs  horribly  mutilated,  his  face  being 
bitten  all  to  pieces,  and  his  side  torn  open.  He  was 
senseless  when  taken  up,  but  by  the  time  a  carriage, 
for  which  we  sent  ten  miles,  arrived,  which  was  about 
daylight,  he  was  able  to  talk.  He  was  aware  that  he 
could  not  live,  but  expressed  a  strong  desire  to  reach 
home  before  he  died.  We  reached  home  the  next  day, 
and  our  friend  died  soon  after.  His  frightful  death 
was  a  severe  blow  to  his  two  brothers  who  were  in  the 
party.  Before  the  carriage  arrived,  some  of  us  went 
to  look  at  the  bear,  and  found  her  mate  and  two  cubs 
by  her  side.  The  old  bear  was  killed,  and  the  cubs 
captured  and  taken  home.  Thus  sorrowfully  ended 
our  excursion,  which  had  promised  so  much  pleasure. 


CHAPTER  XY. 

I  STOPPED  in  Napa  valley  with  my  sisters  and, 
friends  some  time,  when  one  of  Mr.  Boggs's  sons 
and  myself  went  down  to  San  Francisco,  where  I  met 
Colonel  James,  whom  I  had  known  in  the  city  of  Mex- 
ico about  the  close  of  the  ]\Iexican  war.  He  was  now 
United  States  attorney  for  San  Francisco  and  the  dis- 
trict. He  said  I  was  the  very  man  he  wanted  to  see. 
and  offered  me  almost  any  price  if  I  wonld  interpret 
in  the  Land  Commissioner's  office,  in  the  investiga- 
tion of  the  false  claims  of  several  parties  to  Mission 
Dolores.  He  would  also  give  me  mileage  and  liberal 
wao-es  to  0:0  over  California  and  tind  evidence  concern- 
ing  ancient  claims  and  titles,  as  the  land  recoids  of 
each  county  were  in  a  confused  and  very  unintelligible 
shape.  I  accepted  the  offer,  and  labored  threi^  months, 
making  twenty -five  dollars  per  day,  including  mileage ; 
and,  among  other  important  services,  I  was  fortunate 
enough  to  collect  such  evidence  as  defeated  tlie  false 
claimants  to  Mission  Dolores,  which  very  valuable  real 
estate  became  the  property  of  the  city  of  San  Fran- 
cisco with  a  confirmed  and  settled  title. 

This  Mission  Dolores  was  established  by  the  Mex- 
ican government  on  real  estate  of  its  own,  for  tlie  pur- 
pose of  civilizing  and  controling  the  Indians.  A 
Catholic  priest  had  been  put  in  charge  by  the  Mexican 
government.  A  Chilian  and  a  Mexican  who  were  in 
the  employ  of  this  priest  were  murdered,  to  get  rid  of 
their  evidence,  because,  if  it  could  be  established  that 


230  LAND  FRAUDS. 

tlie  Mexican  government  lield  possession  at  that  time, 
it  would  be  fatal  to  the  claimants  nnder  the  false  title. 
The    priest  they    had  bribed   with    thirty  thousand 
dollars  to  leave  for  Guaynias.     I  went  down  to  Guay- 
mas  with  an  order  from  the  Mexican  consul,  called  on 
the  Mexican  authorities,  had  this  priest  delivered  to 
me,  and  proceeded  to  San  Francisco  with  him,  where 
his  testimony  proved  the  United  States  title  direct  from 
the  Mexican  government,  and  the  complete  falsity  of 
the  pretended  transfer.     We  were  obliged  to  guard  the 
priest  carefully,  to  prevent  his  being  assassinated.    The 
false  claimants  had  a  Mexican  grant  with  an  old  date 
and  the  forged  signature  of  a  dead  governor.     The 
priest  was  well  acquainted  with  the  history  of   the 
whole  transaction,  as  he  had  assisted  in  concocting  the 
scheme.     He  was  compelled  on  his  oath  to  expose  the 
knavery  of  these  claimants,  and  their  case  was  thrown 
out  of  court.     I  had  told  him,  on  the  passage  up  from 
Guaymas,  that  the  penalty  for  perjury  was  imprison- 
ment in  the  penitentiary,  which  so  frightened  him  that 
when  he  came  on  the  stand  he  told  the  straight  truth. 
Just  previous  to  his  being  called  upon,  a  false  witness 
had  sworn  in  favor  of  the  pretended  owners  ;  and  when 
the  priest  was  called  into  the  commissioner' s  room  to 
give  his  testimony,  they  stared  at  him  in  amazement, 
for  they  did  not  imagine  that  he  was  in  the  country. 
The  priest  was  asked  if  he  could  point  out  the  men 
who  paid  him  thirty  thousand  dollars  to  leave  the 
country.      He  pointed   out   tliose  who   appeared  as 
claimants.      After  his  evidence  they  abandoned  the 
case.     The  papers  were  forwarded  to  Washington,  and 
the  title  of  San  Francisco  to  Mission  Dolores,  derived 
by  gift  from  the  United  States,  was  confirmed.     Tlie 
witness  who  swore  falsely  was  subsequently  sent  to  the 


VIGILANCE   COMMITTEE.  231 

penitentiary  for  four  years.  In  tlie  early  part  of  1854, 
I  had  an  invitation  from  Colonel  James,  and  the  com- 
missioner, Colonel  Thompson,  to  meet  them  at  the  City 
Hall,  in  San  Francisco,  as  they  were  about  to  transact 
important  business.  I  attended,  and  found  a  hall  full 
of  laborers,  merchants,  mechanics,  and  other  honest 
men,  who  had  met  as  a  vigilance  committee,  to  take 
active  measures  to  put  down  gambling  and  thieving. 
The  meeting  was  secret,  no  one  being  allowed  there 
except  honest  men,  engaged  in  some  reputable  calling. 
This  was  on  Monday  night ;  and,  after  perfecting  our 
arrangements,  AVednesday  morning  was  tixed  iii)on  for 
a  raid  on  the  gamblers  and  thieves,  on  which  day  no 
business  was  to  be  done,  and  the  stores  were  to  be 
closed  throughout  the  city. 

A  few  days  before  the  organization  of  the  committee, 
the  editor  of  a  daily  paper  called  the  Toicn  Talk,  had 
published  an  article  which  retlected  severely  on  the 
gamblers  and  cut-throats  of  the  city,  and  the  next 
morning  as  the  editor,  Mr.  King,  was  crossing  the 
street,  he  was  shot  down  by  a  desperado  named  Buck- 
ley. Wednesday  morning  the  vigilance  committee 
paid  a  visit  to  this  Buckley,  who  was  a  notorious  bully 
and  dared  anybody  to  arrest  him.  We  found  him 
asleep,  and  gave  him  no  time  for  repentance  ;  but  the 
brother  of  the  murdi^rV'd  editor  put  the  rope  around 
his  neck,  and  we  hung  him  from  his  own  bedroom  win- 
dow in  the  upper  story,  leaving  him  to  the  gaze  of 
thousands  in  the  street  below.  He  was  the  iirst  man 
hung  by  the  committee. 

There  was  a  vigilance  committee  of  eight  hundred, 
which  had  been  organized  at  the  other  end  of  the  city, 
and  they,  like  ourselves,  were  divided  into  parties,  that 
took  the  various  resorts  of  gamblers  and  thieves  by 


232  A  WELL   ORGAN-IZED   CITY. 

surprise.  We  liung  eiglit  that  day,  and  imprisoned 
many  more.  We  liung  one  man  tliat  we  found  in  a 
prison  cell  witli  Yankee  Sullivan  ;  and  when  we  took 
him  out,  it  so  frightened  Sullivan  that  he  committed 
suicide,  thinking  probably  that  his  turn  would  come 
next.  It  was  our  intention  to  send  Sullivan  back  to 
England,  where  he  had  been  a  noted  criminal ;  but  we 
should  not  have  hung  him  anyway,  as  he  had  killed 
no  person  that  we  knew  of,  and  we  only  hung  murder- 
ers. Persons  guilty  of  smaller  crimes  we  put  in  jail. 
This  day's  operations  so  alarmed  the  robbers,  sports, 
and  roughs  of  the  city,  that  they  fled  in  all  directions : 
some  to  the  States,  some  to  Mexico,  and  others  to  the 
mountains  to  prey  upon  the  miners. 

We  then  formed  what  we  called  the  City  Guard, 
which  was  sustained  by  the  popular  sentiment ;  and 
the  merchants  once  more  felt  safe,  and  business  resum- 
ed its  regular  channels,  as  soon  as  quiet  was  restored. 
Colonel  James  asked  me  how  I  liked  the  present  organ- 
ization of  the  city.  I  told  him  I  thought  it  was  the 
best  or^amzed  city  I  ever  saw  in  my  life.  There  was 
an  Italian  organ-grinder  at  every  street  corner.  He 
laughed  at  the  remark  and  said  there  was  a  large 
number  of  monkeys  and  hand-organs  in  the  city,  but 
he  preferred  them  to  the  thieves  we  had  expelled. 

In  the  latter  part  of  18.'54,  I  formed  the  acquaintance 
of  a  gentleman  called  Judge  Jenkins.  He  said  he  had 
learned  that  I  spoke  Spanish,  and  was  a  good  practical 
miner,  and  he  wanted  me  to  go  down  into  Mexico  with 
him  and  engage  in  mining  ;  to  which  proposition  I  con- 
sented without  due  reflection.  We  started  together, 
for  the  port  of  Mazatlan,  in  the  State  of  Cinaloa,  and 
prospected  among  a  considerable  number  of  mines  in 
that  vicinity,  and  at  last  purchased  one  for  seven 


MINING  AGAIN.  233 

thousand  dollars,  which  liad  been  a  very  rich  paying 
mine,  but  luid  tilled  up  with  water,  and  was  now  work- 
ed just  enough  for  the  owner  to  retain  possession.  Be- 
fore purchasing,  I  told  the  judge  that  any  less  tlian  a 
hundred  thousand  dollars  would  be  useless  in  working 
such  a  mine  ;  but  I  would  go  on  and  expend  what  money 
I  had  if  he  was  certain  of  raising  the  balance.  He  stated 
that  he  could  get  all  the  money  we  needed.  He  stop- 
ped there  with  me  three  months,  and  only  furnished 
two  thousand  dollars  in  the  aggregate,  while  I  bought 
all  the  machinery,  paid  for  the  mine,  and  purchased 
the  necessary  supplies.  I  finally  informed  the  judge 
that  it  would  be  necessary  to  run  a  tunnel  into  the  side 
of  the  hill,  three  hundred  feet  long,  to  drain  off  the 
water,  and  thus  avoid  raising  it  by  machinery.  He 
told  me  to  manage  the  matter  as  I  thought  best,  and 
he  would  go  back  to  San  Francisco  to  get  all  the  money 
we  needed,  and  would  soon  return.  In  about  a  month 
I  received  a  letter  from  him  stating  that  he  should 
soon  return  with  plenty  of  capital.  This  letter  en- 
couraged me  to  continue  the  work,  and  I  went  on  and 
expended  all  my  means,  when,  to  my  surprise,  I  re- 
ceived a  second  letter  from  the  judge  stating  that  his 
plans  for  raising  money  had  failed,  and  he  could  do 
nothing  for  me. 

Here  I  was  again  out  of  mone}^,  having  spent  a  little 
over  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  the  judge  had  spent 
all  he  had,  which  was  only  two  thousand  dollars.  To 
make  the  matter  doubly  aggravating  to  me,  now  among 
strangers,  d(>stitute  and  without  credit,  or  the  power  to 
proceed  further  with  mining,  I  found  that  although 
I  had  expended  everything  T  had  in  the  purchase  and 
working  of  the  mine,  my  title  would  be  worthless  if  I 
abandoned  the  mine  for  one  month.     According  to  the 


234  PRACTICING   MEDICIXE. 

laws  of  Mexico  any  person  wlio  took  charge  of  an 
abandoned  mine,  and  worked  it,  could  obtain  bona  fide 
possession  and  ownership.  I  did  not  relish  the  idea  of 
losing  all  my  capital,  and  forfeiting  the  mine  too,  but 
what  else  could  I  do  under  the  circumstances  %  Soon 
after,  Domingo  Ruby,  the  governor  of  Cinaloa,  took 
possession  of  the  works,  spent  fifty  thousand  dollars 
in  completing  my  tunnel,  struck  the  mine,  drained  off 
the  water,  took  out  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars, 
and  was  offered  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  his 
claim,  at  which  price  he  would  not  think  of  selling. 
That  was  the  second  time  I  had  been  compelled  to  give 
up  mining  operations  just  on  the  eve  of  success. 

I  then  went  into  Mazatlan  to  look  for  some  business 
I  could  engage  in  without  much  capital,  and  finally 
bought  some  patent  medicines  and  started  out  as  a  pill 
doctor,  or  physician.  I  had  Wright's  pills,  Ayer's 
pills,  and  various  kinds  of  patent  medicines.  I  was 
also  well  acquainted  with  many  kinds  of  medicinal 
herbs.  I  established  myself  at  a  town  about  eighty 
miles  from  Mazatlan,  called  Cosala.  I  had  a  great 
many  patients  there  and  as  much  business  as  I  could 
attend  to.  I  took  my  pay  in  horses,  cattle,  hogs,  corn, 
or  anything  marketable,  and  was  soon  looked  upon  as 
a  first-class  physician.  Wlien  I  first  went  there  I  had 
an  open  field  and  no  competition,  but  after  I  had  been 
there  about  two  months,  a  Mexican  doctor  came  along 
who  had  a  diploma.  One  day,  in  conversation  he 
asked  me  what  authority  I  had  to  practice  medicine. 
I  told  him  that  I  had  as  much  right  as  he  had.  He 
said  he  had  a  diploma,  and  he  was  going  to  have  me 
arrested,  and  if  I  could  not  show  a  dij^loma,  I  should 
be  stopped  from  practicing  medicine.  He  had  me 
brought  before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  who  was  a  par- 


TraAL   AS  A  QUACK.  235 

ticnlar  friend  of  mine,  wlio  discliarged  me  fortinvitli, 
saying  I  was  regarded  as  a  first-rate  physician,  by  all 
his  friends  and  neighbors  ;  and  he  advised  tli<.'  other 
fellow  to  leave,  and  practice  elsewhere.  I  had  attend- 
ed the  justice  when  he  was  quite  sick,  and  cured  him, 
which  was  all  that  saved  me,  for  the  law  was  against 
quack  doctors. 

After  g<>tting  a  lot  of  jackasses,  mules,  horses,  and 
hogs,  I  turned  them  over  to  a  Mexican  ranchero,  to 
take  care  of  on  shares,  and  started  off  to  seek  another 
location,  taking  a  recommendation  from  the  judge.  I 
went  to  a  mining  town  about  fifty-five  miles  north  of 
Culiacan.  I  had  been  there  about  a  month  when  I  was 
sent  for  by  Placa  de  Vega,  who  was  sick.  After  cur- 
ing him,  he  asked  me  if  I  knew  anything  about  ex- 
tracting metal  from  ores.  I  told  him  I  was  acquainted 
with  the  quicksilver  amalgamating  process  in  use  at 
Guanaxuata,  and  he  tlK^n  employed  me,  and  I  worked 
for  him  over  a  year,  until  the  latter  part  of  1856.  His 
mine  was  poor,  and  did  not  pay  expenses ;  and  I  ad- 
vised him  to  cease  operations,  for  I  was  anxious  to  do 
something  more  profitable. 

We  soon  had  a  visitor,  who  was  introduced  to  me  as 
Lawyer  Romero,  of  Guadalaxara,  who  had  come  to 
see  Senor  de  Vega  on  important  business,  the  nature  of 
which  was  soon  after  explained  to  me.  To  understand 
the  nature  of  his  mission,  it  is  important  to  know  the 
condition  of  Mexico  at  that  time. 

Mexico  was  at  this  time  a  perfectl}-  priest-ridden 
country.  The  people  were  in  a  state  of  abject  slavery 
to  the  clergy,  who  not  only  absorbed  the  capital  of  the 
country,  but  i-equired  the  greatf'st  respect  and  tok(ms 
of  superiority  from  them.  When  a  priest  passed 
through  the  streets,  it  was  necessary  for  the  people  to 
16 


236  rPEISING  AGAINST   CHURCH   POWER. 

fall  on  their  Iviiees  and  make  the  sign  of  the  cross,  or 
they  would  receive  affronts  from  some  of  the  soldiers 
who  always  formed  the  escort  of  a  priest.  They  re- 
quired more  days  for  church  holidays,  &c.,  than  they 
allowed  for  business,  and  took  heavy  toll  on  every 
article  raised  or  manufactured.  They  laid  a  heavy  tax 
on  every  step  in  a  man' s  existence,  —  baptism,  marri- 
age, and  burial. 

Placa  de  Vega,  knowing  my  American  birth,  and 
sympathies  for  freedom,  had  sufficient  confidence  in 
me  to  unfold  the  plan  of  a  revolution  which  was  soon 
to  overthrow  this  priestly  rule.  I  was  at  Del  Fuerte 
with  him  and  Senor  Komero  on  the  17th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1857,  the  day  before  the  revolution  broke  out. 
The  president  of  the  Republic,  Mr.  Comonfort,  was  at 
the  head  of  this  rebellion — this  grand  uprising  of  the 
people  against  their  oppressors.  The  details  were 
managed  so  skillfully  that  the  liberty  party  had  been 
generally  organized  throughout  most  of  the  larger 
towns  of  the  Republic,  and  the  day  agreed  upon  for  a 
pronunciamiento  to  be  issued  against  the  conservatives, 
or  priestly  party,  without  their  knowledge,  and  before 
they  could  arrange  a  plan  of  defense.  A  few  conserv- 
atives in  the  city  of  Mexico  had  some  information  fur- 
nished them  before  the  time  set  for  the  rising,  but  they 
were  powerless  before  the  storm  that  was  ready  to 
burst  upon  them.  General  Lanberg,  an  Austrian 
officer  who  had  fought  against  General  Scott,  during 
the  Mexican  war,  was  in  command  of  four  hundred 
troops,  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  who  sympathized  with 
the  church  party.  The  priests  offered  him  a  large 
sum  of  money  to  declare  for  them,  and  influence  his 
troops  to  fight  for  them.  He  took  their  money  and 
promised   to   assist  them,  but  President    Comonfort 


RELEASING   PRISONERS.  237 

learning  the  parti(!ulars,  offered  him  a  larger  bribe, 
and  lie  took  it  and  dec  hired  for  the;  liberal  j)arty  when 
the  pronuiieianiicnto  came  out,  and  his  troops  sided 
with  him. 

The  evening  of  the  seventeenth  of  September,  I  was 
asked  to  take  command  of  a  squad  of  twenty  men, 
and  release  fifty-eight  prisoners  from  jail,  so  that  they 
could  take  a  part  with  us  in  the  revolution.  Tliere 
was  a  grand  ball  in  our  hall  of  rendezvous  at  Del 
Fuerte,  that  evening,  to  allay  any  suspicion  that  the 
priests  might  have  on  account  of  seeing  so  many  stran- 
gers pour  into  town  and  gather  around  one  building. 
At  one  o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  the  eighteenth,  the 
hour  previously  agreed  upon  by  the  liberals  all  over 
Mexico,  the  revolution  commenced  ;  and  the  uprising 
was  simultaneous  all  through  the  cities  of  that  country. 
It  was  a  dark  niglit,  which  we  considered  favorable ; 
half  the  government  soldiers  at  the  barracks  had 
promised  to  aid  us  in  disarming  and  subduing  tlieir 
comrades,  if  any  tliere  were  wlio  favored  the  priests 
enough  to  fight  for  them.  But  at  Del  Fuerte  we  anti- 
cipated very  little  bloodshed,  for,  by  a  liberal  supply 
of  liquor  to  the  soldiers  we  made  them  half  drunk, 
and  careless  about  guarding  the  barracks. 

At  one  o'clock  I  started  with  my  squad  of  twenty 
men,  for  the  jail,  with  no  arms  except  my  double  bar- 
reled gun  and  revolver.  My  men  had  armed  them- 
selves with  short  clubs.  On  the  way  to  the  Jail.  I 
picked  uji  s(wcral  mor(^  liberals,  armed  with  clul)s.  and 
when  we  arrived  at  the  jail  yard,  we  found  the  senti- 
nel and  the  guard  of  twenty -four  soldiers  drunk  and 
fast  asleep.  They  were  easily  secured,  and,  armed 
with  their  guns,  we  advanced  to  the  jail  and  told  the 
prisoners  what  we  had  come  for,  and  they  were  not 


238  APPOINTED   CAPTAIT^. 

long  ill  rousing  from  tlieir  slumbers,  and  clieering  for 
the  liberty  party.  The  jail  was  opened,  and  every 
one  of  the  prisoners  joined  our  force,  as  did  many 
soldiers,  so  that  we  returned  to  our  barracks,  or  danc- 
ing hall,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men.  This  had 
been  accomplished  without  firing  a  gun !  Soon  after 
we  arrived  at  the  hall,  about  three  o'  clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, De  Yega  and  Eomero  arrived,  followed  by  a  great 
crowd  of  government  soldiers  and  citizens  who  had 
joined  our  party. 

Romero  made  a  speech,  telling  them  that  the  revolu- 
tion was  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  priestly  domination, 
and  to  enable  the  poor  man  to  get  a  living  without  be- 
ing taxed  to  death  by  the  church.  He  then  read  to 
them  the  new  constitution  of  1857,  prepared  for  adop- 
tion all  over  the  republic  ;  and  when  he  had  finished 
reading,  the  crowd  all  cheered  and  shouted  in  favor  of 
the  new  constitution. 

A  military  company  was  then  formed,  of  persons 
present  in  the  hall.  De  Vega  and  myself  stepped  for- 
ward, and  Romero  told  them  that  they  were  to  regard 
Placa  de  Vega  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  forces  of 
the  State  of  Cinaloa,  and  that  I  Avas  captain  of  that 
company  ;  and  this  also  appeared  to  give  general  sat- 
isfaction. I  was  then  presented  by  De  Vega  with  a 
commission  to  raise  money  for  the  liberal  cause,  with 
instructions  to  arrest  any  persons  who  would  not  com- 
ply with  the  new  order  of  things,  and  be  quiet  and 
peaceable.  He  gave  me  a  list  of  rich  men  in  Villa  del 
Fuerte,  who  favored  the  priesthood,  and  opposite  each 
man's  name  was  the  amount  assessed  against  him.  My 
orders  were  to  take  a  squad  of  soldiers  with  me,  and 
bring  back  either  the  money  or  the  men  to  head-quar- 
ters; and  in  case  I  brought  the  men,  to  keep  them 


COLLECT   ASSESSMENTS.  239 

prisoners  till  the  monoy  was  forthcoming.  The  first 
man  on  my  list  was  a  priest,  wlio  was  notorious  for 
his  vicious  life,  and  who  had  amassed  an  immense 
fortune  from  the  priest-ridden  people.  He  was  on  my 
list  for  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  and  was  much 
alarmed  at  seeing  my  men  and  having  such  an  enorm- 
ous demand  for  money  made  so  abruptly  ;  he  deni(^d 
that  he  had  any  money,  but  I  told  him  it  made  no  dif- 
ference, as  he  was  as  good  as  the  money  to  me,  accord- 
ing to  my  orders,  and  he  must  come  along.  After  my 
men  had  marched  him  about  half  way  to  the  barracks, 
he  offered  to  compromise  and  raise  five  thousand  dol- 
lars ;  but  I  told  him  that  an3'tliing  less  than  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars  would  not  do  from  him  ;  so  he 
walked  along  and  was  placed  under  a  strong  guard,  while 
I  went  to  attend  to  a  few  others  who  had  heaped  up 
riches  out  of  the  labor  of  honest  people. 

One  man  paid  me  a  thousand  dollars.  All  the  rest 
I  took  to  our  barracks,  which  was  a  large  building, 
with  a  large  yard,  or  inside  court ;  and  porches,  or 
verandahs  all  around  ;  with  a  hundred  rooms,  reached 
only  by  doors  from  these  inside  porches  ;  there  being 
one  main  entrance  from  the  street.  The  place  belonged 
to  De  Vega's  aunt,  and  had  been  built  for  a  hotel  and 
lodging  rooms,  but  had  been  vacant  for  a  while.  My 
company,  when  all  were  present,  numbered  about 
four  hundred,  and  this  building  was  well  adapted  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  entire  number. 

When  I  arrived  at  the  barracks  with  the  prisoners, 
I  found  many  of  my  men  preparing  for  active  service 
by  making  cartridges,  and  cleaning  up  old  muskets 
which  they  had  collected  about  town.  I  went  in  with 
my  prisoners  to  De  Vega  and  made  my  report.  The 
priest  told  him  that  he  could  only  raise  five  thousand 


240  A  PRIEST  BEOUGHT  TO  TERMS. 

dollars,  and  the  assessment  was  exorbitant  against 
liim.  De  Yega  answered:  "You  are  worth  twenty- 
five  thousand  dollars  to  me.  You  have  had  your  way 
long  enough  ;  I  am  going  to  have  mine  awhile."  He 
then  ordered  the  priest  to  be  locked  up  and  given 
nothing  whatever  to  eat  or  drink  till  he  had  paid  over 
the  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  The  other  men  all 
compromised  by  paying  a  part  of  their  assessments 
down,  and  agreeing  to  pay  the  remainder  in  six  days. 

Early  the  next  morning,  the  servant  of  the  priest  ap- 
peared with  chocolate  and  provisions,  inquiring  for  the 
"Father."  We  asked  him  what  he  wanted.  He  said 
he  had  brought  the  padre' s  breakfast.  We  told  him 
to  go  back  home  ;  that  the  priest  was  not  allowed  to 
take  any  breakfast.  The  servant  returned  home  with 
the  news  that  the  father  was  being  starved  to  death, 
and  in  an  hour  a  deputation  of  eight  or  ten  women 
came  to  see  about  the  matter.  They  interceded  for  the 
priest,  pleading  earnestly  for  his  release.  Vega  told 
them  there  was  no  relief  for  him  whatever  till  he  com- 
plied with  the  conditions.  They  inquired  the  amount 
demanded,  and  offered  to  raise  it  if  they  could  be  al- 
lowed to  see  the  priest  and  obtain  his  consent.  Yega 
told  them  he  wanted  no  money  from  them,  he  only 
wanted  it  from  the  priest,  and  he  should  pay  it  or  he 
would  dry  him  up  in  his  cell  by  starvation  ;  and  fur- 
ther added  that  he  wanted  them  to  leave  the  room  and 
go  home.  They  went  out  muttering  that  the  curses  of 
that  priest  would  send  us  all  to  perdition  ;  but  we  told 
them  we  should  take  our  chances  on  that  point. 

The  priest  stood  it  out  like  a  martyr  for  two  days, 
and  then  begged  of  Yega  to  let  him  out  and  he  would 
go  and  raise  the  money.  Yega  sent  back  a  reply  that 
he  had  no  confidence  in  him ;  and  told  me  to  take  six 


LEVYING   CONTRIBUTIONS,  241 

soldiers,  go  with  liim  to  his  house,  be  sure  he  did  not 
escape,  and  return  with  the  money  or  the  priest.  In 
half  an  hour  we  were  in  the  old  priest's  cellar,  where 
he  opened  an  iron  safe  in  wliich  there  seemed  to  he  one 
hundred  tliousand  dolhirs  in  gold,  put  up  in  sacks  of 
five  thousand  dollars  each.  He  handed  us  out  the 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  and  we  left  him  to  ap- 
pease his  hunger  and  bewail  his  misfortunes.  We 
took  the  money  to  Vega,  who  said  he  was  very  glad  to 
learn  that  the  priest  had  so  much  money,  aihe  would 
call  on  him  again  whenever  his  supplies  were,  short. 

I  was  then  order(xl.  by  De  Vega  to  take  twenty -five 
cavalrymen  and  go  out  in  the  country  to  levy  contri- 
butions of  horses  and  money  for  the  liberal  cause. 
One  of  the  principal  men  on  my  list  was  Don  Canute 
Evarro,  who  w^as  wealthy,  and  owned  a  large  amount  of 
stock.  He  was  strongly  in  fovor  of  the  priests,  as  we 
discovered  by  a  conversation  with  him,  and  was  mnch 
taken  aback  when  I  demanded  a  lot  of  horses  and  five 
tliousand  dollars  in  cash.  He  declined  to  pay  the 
cash,  but  off*ered  to  let  the  horses  go ;  whereupon  we 
arrested  him  and  started  him  towards  Del  Fuerte. 
After  going  about  two  miles,  one  of  the  men  told  him 
how  we  had  served  the  priest,  which  scared  him  so 
badly  that  he  returned  to  the  house  with  us,  paid  over 
the  money  and  gave  ns  the  horses  without  any  delay, 
and  with  a  considerable  shew  of  politeness, 

I  was  absent  on  this  expcnlition  eight  days,  and  re- 
turned to  Fuerte  with  four  hundred  horses  and  eight- 
een thousand  dollars  in  money.  De  Vega  congratu- 
lated me  on  my  success,  and  said  I  was  about  the 
fittest  man  for  general  business  that  he  had  met,  as  I 
was  doctor,  mmer,  interpreter,  captain,  and  general 
collector. 


242  GEN.    GARCIA   MORALES. 

A  servant  of  a  rich  man  in  the  vicinity  came  one  day 
to  join  our  party  as  a  soldier,  and  stated  that  his  late 
master  had  two  four  pounder  cannon  hidden  on  his 
place.  By  De  Vega's  direction,  I  took  a  squad  of 
soldiers  and  a  sergeant,  and  went  to  bring  the  cannon 
to  our  barracks.  This  servant  went  with  us  as  a  guide, 
and  when  we  arrived  at  the  place  I  asked  the  proprie- 
tor if  he  had  any  such  cannon  on  his  premises,  and  he 
replied  positively  that  he  had  not.  The  servant  point- 
ed out  a  pile  of  lumber,  and  on  throwing  it  off  we 
found  the  two  cannon.  I  then  asked  for  the  moulds 
and  ammunition.  He  said  he  had  none.  I  inquired 
of  the  servant,  and  he  said  they  were  in  a  room  adjoin- 
ing the  kitchen.  The  old  man  was  compelled  to  show 
lis  the  articles,  and  we  bore  them  off  to  the  barracks 
in  triumph. 

That  forenoon,  a  dispatch  was  brought  by  a  messen- 
ger from  Sonora,  to  the  effect  that  General  Garcia 
Morales,  a  brother-in-law  of  the  governor  of  Sonora, 
was  coming  to  our  assistance  with  a  force  of  four  hun- 
dred men  and  four  pieces  of  artillery,  and  would  arrive 
in  a  few  days.  He  was  called  by  the  nickname  of 
Cotchero  (meaning  in  English,  lizard),  because  he  could 
creep  up  so  slyly  on  an  enemy  ;  was  a  great  Indian 
fighter,  and  fond  of  ambushes  when  he  made  them 
himself. 

In  the  afternoon  another  dispatch  was  received,  in- 
forming us  that  eight  hundred  of  the  church  party 
were  marching  against  us  from  Mazatlan.  The  last 
dispatch  was  from  Romero,  who  was  in  sight  of  the 
enemy,  having  gone  down  to  watch  their  movements 
about  Culiacan  and  Mazatlan. 

I  told  De  Yega  it  was  high  time  to  begin  to  drill.  I 
picked  out  drill  sergeants,  and  drilling  was  steadily 


PREPARING   FOR  ACTIVE   SERVICE.  243 

kept  lip  until  the  arrival  of  Morales,  by  which  time  I 
had  gathered  up  two  hundred  more  recruits  from  the 
surrounding  country,  maldng  our  force,  with  the  new 
arrival,  one  thousand  men. 

General  Morales  brought  two  twelve-pounder  how- 
itzers of  American  make,  which  had  been  taken  from 
the  American  hllibuster  Crabbe,  when  he  was  murder- 
ed in  Sonora.  He  also  brought  two  Mexican  six- 
pounders,  which,  added  to  my  two  four-pounders,  gave 
us  quite  a  resi)ectable  show  of  artillery  for  that 
country.  I  was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  two 
twelve-pounder  howitzers,  and  drill  tlie  men  at  the 
guns  thoroughly,  so  that  they  might  be  of  service  in 
time  of  action. 

Before  sallying  out  from  Fiierte  to  meet  the  church 
forces,  we  organized  a  home  guard,  or  police  force,  to 
keep  order  in  the  town  ;  and  also  put  another  judge  in 
office  who  was  a  liberal,  in  place  of  one  who  was  not. 
While  on  the  march  out  we  received  another  dispatch 
from  Romero,  who  said  he  had  collected  three  hun- 
dred more  recruits,  who  would  join  us  at  Mocaiito; 
and  from  what  he  could  learn,  our  forces  would  then 
be  about  equal.  He  urged  us  to  hasten  forward,  so  as 
to  effect  a  junction  before  the  enemy  met  us. 

At  Cinaloa  we  had  an  acquisition  of  one  luuidn'd 
more  men,  and  got  hold  of  another  priest,  from  whom 
Yega  obtained  Un\  thousand  dollars,  saying  that  as  he 
was  not  as  big  a  rascal  as  the  other  priest,  he  would  let 
him  off  easier.  We  laid  over  at  Cinaloa  one  day,  for 
rest,  and  to  make  important  changes  in  the  government 
of  the  place,  appointmcMit  of  officers,  and  in  raising  a 
home  guard  for  its  protection.  This  was  a  place  of 
about  live  thousand  inhabitants. 


CHAPTER  XYI. 

WHEN  we  arrived  at  Mocarito,  two  days  afterward, 
we  found  Romero  with  tliree  hundred  men  anxi- 
ously expecting  us.  De  Vega  was  with  us,  but  left  the 
fighting  to  Garcia  Morales,  wliom  he  had  invested  with 
full  command.  Morales  called  on  the  citizens  for  carts 
to  haul  adobes  and  other  fortifying  material,  and  con- 
tinued four  days,  apparently  at  work  vigorously  to 
intrench  our  position.  Being  satisfied  that  the  news 
of  these  movements  had  reached  the  ears  of  the  enemy, 
he  ordered  us  all  to  be  ready  the  next  day  to  break 
camp  and  march  with  two  days'  rations.  Meantime, 
another  hundred  or  more  new  recruits  had  straggled 
into  our  ranks  from  various  quarters,  and  we  now  num- 
bered nearly  fifteen  hundred  men.  The  last  evening  at 
Mocarito,  we  were  informed  by  Romero's  scouts  that 
the  enemy,  with  sixteen  hundred  men,  were  only  a 
day's  march  distant.  We  therefore  broke  camp  hasti- 
ly, and  Morales  marched  us  that  night  about  twelve 
miles  towards  the  enemy,  where  we  took  a  favorable 
position,  and  lay  in  ambush  in  a  lot  of  brush  and  small 
trees  by  the  side  of  the  road.  We  laid  in  the  brush  on 
our  faces,  our  artillery  hidden  completely  from  view, 
by  green  brush  which  we  cut  for  that  purpose.  Our 
cavalry  were  in  the  rear  of  us  and  we  intended  to  let 
their  advance  guard  and  a  part  of  their  force  get  past 
us,  and  then  open  fire  on  them. 

Opposite  to  us,  in  the  road,  the  advance  guard  of  the 
enemy  came  suddenly  on  one  of  our  men  about  day- 


A   DOG    MAKES   TROUBLE.  245 

break,  and  asked  liim  where  lie  belonged,  &c.  lie  luid 
been  sent  on  an  errand  by  an  officer  and  had  not  time 
to  conceal  himself  before  they  came  upon  him.  AVliile 
they  were  questioning  him,  a  little  dog  that  hud  fol- 
lowed us  commenced  to  bark,  and  tliis  alarmed  them 
so  that  they  dismounted  and  looked  about  under  the 
trees.  Discovering  the  red  shirts  of  some  of  our  men, 
they  endeavored  to  escape ;  but  all  were  shot  except 
one,  who  rode  back  to  the  main  body  nearly  frightened 
out  of  his  wits.  But  for  this  little  dog,  our  plan  of 
ambush  would  probably  have  so  surprised  the  enemy, 
that  w(?  should  have  killed  or  captured  nearly  all  of 
them,  as  they  were  marching  irregularly,  not  dreaming 
of  any  surprise,  as  they  supposed  we  were  still  in 
Mocarito. 

All  our  force  now  advanced  two  or  three  hundred 
yards,  to  a  rise  of  ground  which  commanded  the  road, 
and,  in  fact,  the  whole  plain,  wliich  was  bare,  with  the 
exception  of  the  few  trees  which  covered  our  ambus- 
cade. I  planted  my  howitzers  on  a  high  point  over- 
looking the  road  over  which  the  enemy  must  come. 
Upon  the  first  alarm  they  had  retreated  a  short  distance, 
and  made  preparations  for  battle  ;  for,  before  that,  one- 
half  their  guns  were  not  loaded.  While  they  were 
getting  ready  we  had  ample  time  to  complete  our  pre- 
parations, and  soon  commenced  firing.  Tlie  enemy  had 
eight  pieces  of  artillery,  and  we  began  to  throw  shells 
at  each  other.  They  commenced  cutting  a  cactus  hedge 
to  get  their  artillery  through,  witli  tlie  intt^ntion  of 
flanking  us  ;  but  a  shell  from  us  dismounted  the  first 
gun  which  they  got  through  the  hedge,  and  they 
changed  their  plan.  Advancing  boldly  up  the  road, 
they  commenced  in  earnest,  and  musketr}^  firing  be- 
came general.     The  fight  commenced  about  eight  in 


246  TNEELIABLE    CAVALRY. 

tlie  morning  and  ended  at  three  in  the  afternoon.  Their 
commanding  officer  was  a  very  brave  man.  He  charged 
up  the  hill  straight  to  my  artillery.  Springing  upon 
one  of  the  guns,  he  ordered  us  to  surrender,  when  one 
of  my  men  shot  him  through  the  breast  and  he  fell 
dead,  astride  of  the  axle  of  the  gun  carriage  with  his 
head  over  the  gun.  Soon  the  enemy  broke  and  fled. 
We  called  for  our  cavalry  to  pursue,  but  they  had 
been  stationed  in  our  rear,  and  finding  the  shells  burst- 
ing thick  among  them,  they  had  retreated,  and  not  one  of 
them  could  be  found.  If  the  enemy  had  known  that 
fact  they  would  not  have  retreated  in  such  disorder  nor 
gone  so  far.  On  the  enemy's  side  there  were  one  hun- 
dred and  eleven  men  killed  and  thirty-two  wounded. 
On  our  side  thirty-eight  were  killed  and  twenty-seven 
wounded,  including  our  commander,  Garcia  Morales, 
who  was  wounded  in  the  hip  with  a  pistol -ball,  and 
one  of  our  artillery  captains  named  Gumbor,  was 
wounded  in  the  thigh ;  but  neither  of  them  danger- 
ously. 

We  collected  our  troops  on  the  battle-field  and 
camped  there  that  night,  and  the  next  day  buried  our 
dead.  The  wounded  were  taken  back  to  Mocarito,  and 
I  was  detailed  to  establish  an  hospital,  get  it  into  good 
condition,  and  leave  it  in  good  hands  ;  then  I  was  to 
rejoin  our  forces.  After  getting  the  hospital  in  work- 
ing order,  and  surgeons  supplied,  I  levied  contributions 
from  the  church  j)arty  to  supply  our  hospital  with 
necessaries.  These  important  duties  hindered  me  at 
Mocarito  two  or  three  weeks. 

Meantime  the  church  party  had  made  a  stand  at 
Mazatlan,  at  which  place  they  had  gathered  ;  and  our 
army,  under  Morales,  were  camped  outside  the  town 
and  had  them  besieged,  with  a  fair  prospect  of  captur- 


VALUABLE    RECRUITS.  247 

ing  tlie  entire  force.  Tliey  were  fortified  in  a  position 
that  i)revented  them  from  obtaining  provisions  or  fuel 
from  the  adjoining  country  ;  but  General  Morales  con- 
cluded they  were  <i;('tt ing  1)oth  from  the  coast  above  and 
from  Lower  Calil'ornia,  and  lie  was  fearful  it  would  be 
hard  to  starve  them  out.  While  I  was  back  at  Moca- 
rito,  seeing  to  the  hospital  matters,  our  camp  before 
Mazatlanhad  received  some  very  welcome  recruits,  viz.  : 
Colonel  Charles  Norton,  Captain  Ball,  John  Coly, 
William  Keyes,  and  fifteen  or  twenty  American  and 
English  marines,  who  had  deserted  from  vessels  on  the 
coast  and  come  in  there,  offering  their  services  to  the 
liberal  party. 

Anchored  in  the  harbor  of  Mazatlan,  about  three 
hundred  yards  distant  from  the  enemy's  fort,  was  a 
merchant  schooner  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  tons, 
fitted  up  by  the  church  forces  as  a  war  vessel,  with 
port-holes  for  six  pieces  of  artillery.  They  also  had  a 
beautiful  brass  pivot-gun  mounted  on  deck.  The  vessel 
was  named  the  Itrovide,  and  was  of  special  value  to 
the  church  party,  so  much  so  that  we  formed  a  plan  for 
its  capture. 

Our  newly  arrived  friends,  the  marines  and  officers 
had  come  down  the  coast  in  two  small  vessels  of  twenty 
tons  each,  which  they  had  left  six  miles  above  Mazat- 
lan, at  a  little  port  called  Cameron.  They  offered  to  go 
up  and  get  their  vessels,  if  I  would  lead  the  expedi- 
tion, and  drop  down  on  each  side  of  the  Avar  schooner 
and  take  lun-  by  surprise.  On  explaining  the  plan  to 
De  Yega  and  General  Morales,  they  scouted  at  the  idea 
as  ridiculous.  Morales,  however,  soon  favored  the  en- 
terprise, on  learning  that  we  only  required  our  two 
twelve  pounder  howitzers,  and  a  few  Mexican  soldiers  ; 
and  if  we  v^ould  take  the  responsibility  we  should  have 


248  CAPTURE   OF   A   VESSEL. 

what  we  wanted.  After  dark,  taking  tlie  marines  and 
the  Mexican  soldiers  allowed  us,  we  went  up  to  where 
the  two  vessels  lay,  put  the  howitzers  aboard,  one  on 
each  vessel,  and  by  rowing  and  drifting  we  neared  the 
schooner  so  noiselessly  that  we  were  not  discovered  till 
we  had  got  very  near  to  her.  My  vessel  approaching 
on  the  left,  and  the  other,  commanded  by  Colonel  Nor- 
ton, on  the  right.  We  intended  to  board  her  at  once, 
after  the  first  discharge  from  our  twelve  pounders, 
which  we  had  double- shotted  with  grape  and  canister. 

Suddenly  the  man  on  the  watch  called  out : 

"Who's  there?" 

I  answered,  in  English,   "Friends,  with  provisions." 

He  said,   "  Anchor  where  you  are." 

"All  right,"  I  replied,  rattling  the  chain  as  if  letting 
down  the  anchor.  It  was  too  dark  for  him  to  see  us 
distinctly.  I  wanted  to  get  my  vessel  a  little  more 
abreast  of  them  to  give  them  a  raking  broadside  and 
then  grapple  with  and  board  her.  With  muffled  oars 
we  silently  approached,  when,  finding  the  crew  of  the 
schooner  aroused  and  gathered  on  deck,  I  discharged 
the  howitzer  among  them,  and  we  pulled  in  earnest  for 
their  sides,  clambered  up  just  as  Captain  Norton  gave 
them  another  discharge  from  the  opposite  side.  Cut- 
lasses in  hand,  we  rushed  on  the  few  who  remained  on 
deck,  nine  of  whom  surrendered,  and  the  remainder 
not  killed,  jumped  overboard  and  swam  for  the  shore. 
Their  force  numbered  about  thirty,  and  their  easy  cap- 
ture was  the  result  of  their  carelessness  on  watch,  as 
they  little  dreamed  of  attack.  We  weighed  anchor 
and  hoisted  sail,  but  there  was  not  a  breath  of  air  stir- 
ring, and  the  schooner  did  not  move.  We  were  now  in 
an  unpleasant  situation,  for  the  enemy's  fort  opened 
fire  on  us,  and,  as  day  was  breaking,  we  made  a  good 


A  MISTAKE  OF   MORALES.  249 

target.  Our  only  cliiince  was  to  man  our  small  V63ssels 
and  tow  the  schooner  out  of  range,  for  their  shots  be- 
gan to  tell  on  us,  several  of  our  men  being  killed  and 
wounded.  Just  as  we  had  got  her  head  around,  for- 
tunately a  breeze  sprung  up,  and  we  moved  out  of 
danger. 

I  had  told  General  Morales  that  when  our  firing  com- 
menced, the  enemy's  troops  would  all  come  running  to 
the  beach  from  their  intrenchments,  to  fire  upon  us, 
and  it  would  be  a  favorable  opportunity  for  him  to  cap- 
ture the  town  by  attacking  them  in  the  rear.  As  we 
moved  out  of  the  harbor,  the  enemy  in  full  force  were 
gathered  on  shore,  even  their  cavalry  having  come 
down  to  fire  upon  us.  It  was  very  mortify iiig  to  see 
that  Morales  did  not  make  the  attack,  which  would  no 
doubt  have  proved  successful. 

I  asked  one  of  our  prisoners,  a  negro,  where  the 
shells  for  the  pivot-gun  were.  He  brought  me  some 
fine  American  shells,  and  training  the  gun  on  some  cav- 
alry near  the  water's  edge,  I  dropped  a  few  shells 
among  them,  as  w^ell  as  into  the  fort,  which  had  a  good 
effect,  killing  a  number  and  dispersing  the  crowd. 

We  took  the  captured  schooner,  with,  our  little  ves- 
sels, back  to  the  port  of  Cameron,  where  we  started 
from.  Here  we  found  a  lot  of  our  troops  gathered  to 
welcome  us. 

"  AVell,"  said  General  Morales,  "you  Americans 
beat  the  d — 1.  I  wouldn't  have  gone  with  you  on  such 
an  enterprise  for  the  whole  of  Mexico." 

Said  I  to  Morales,  with  some  show  of  anger  in  my 
question,  "Why  did  you  not  go  into  the  v'liy  when  you 
heard  our  firing  and  had  such  a  good  opportunity." 

"  I  was  looking  at  you,"  he  replied ;  "  expecting  you 
would  all  be  killed." 


250  ENGLISH    INTERFERENCE. 

I  told  liim  that  in  war  some  risk  must  be  run  or 
nothing  won. 

' '  Now, ' '  said  he,  ' '  we  have  them  in  our  power.  We 
can  cut  them  off  from  provisions  coming  by  sea  or 
land,  and  we  can  starve  them  out  in  a  very  short 
time." 

The  next  day,  a  United  States  man  of  war,  the  St. 
Mary,  came  to  our  port  of  Cameron,  not  being  willing 
to  anchor  at  Mazatlan  under  the  flag  of  the  church 
party.  The  officers  came  ashore  and  fraternized  with 
our  officers,  and  invited  them  aboard  the  St.  Mary,  and 
we  all  had  a  social  time  together.  In  the  meantime  an 
American  vessel,  loaded  with  flour  for  San  Bias,  sprung 
a  leak,  and  put  into  the  harbor  of  Mazatlan  for  repairs. 
General  Arteigo,  commanding  the  church  forces  in 
Mazatlan,  seized  the  flour,  on  the  ground  that  the  ves- 
sel had  not  cleared  for  that  port.  The  truth  was,  his 
soldiers  were  in  sore  need  of  flour,  as  well  as  every- 
thing else  in  the  way  of  eatables. 

Captain  George  Lewis,  the  owner  of  the  cargo,  made 
complaint  to  the  American  consul  at  Mazatlan,  who 
communicated  with  Commander  Wells  of  the  St.  Mary. 
The  result  was  that  General  Arteigo  was  speedily  in- 
formed that  if  Captain  Lewis  was  not  delivered  on 
board  the  St.  Mary,  at  4  o'clock  the  next  day,  with  the 
value  of  his  cargo,  nine  thousand  dollars,  he  would 
come  down  and  blow  the  side  of  their  town  off.  There 
had  just  arrived  at  Mazatlan,  an  English  man  of  war, 
named  the  Eclipse,  and  the  commander  sent  word  to 
Commodore  Wells  that  he  had  no  right  to  make  such 
demands.  Commodore  Wells  returned  for  an  an- 
swer to  the  Englishman,  that  he  must  mind  his  own 
business  ;  for  his  part,  he  was  only  protecting  the  in- 
terests of  his  countrymen,  and  if  the  Englishman  was 


LOSS   OF   OUR   PRIZES.  251 

dissatisfied  witli  liis  conduct,  and  would  anclior  out  at 
a  proper  distance,  he  c(ndd  liave  satisfaction,  for  he 
Mt  competent  to  blow  him  out  of  the  water  and  shell 
the  town  besides.  The  challenge  was  not  accepted, 
however. 

About  3  o'clock  Commodore  Wells  weighed  anchor 
and  dropped  down  opposite  Mazatlan.  At  4  o'clock 
he  opened  his  port-holes  and  shoved  out  his  guns.  Tlie 
Mexicans  hastily  raised  a  flag  of  truce  and  brought 
Captain  Lewis  aboard  with  eight  thousand  dollars  ;  but 
they  were  compelled  to  return  and  get  the  otlier  thou- 
sand without  delay.  Commodore  AVells  then  gratuit- 
ously furnished  ship-carpenters,  who  repaii-ed  Captain 
Lewis's  vessel,  and  he  sailed  for  San  Francisco,  think- 
ing his  flour  well  sold,  as  he  had  got  twice  as  much  for 
it  as  it  would  have  brought  if  he  had  continued  on  to 
San  Bias.  The  American  man  of  war  soon  left  our 
port  for  Acapulco. 

Four  days  after  the  St.  Mary  left,  the  bishop  of 
Mazatlan  and  General  Arteigo  consulted  with  the  com- 
mander of  the  English  man  of  war,  and  bribed  him,  as 
we  afterwards  found,  with  a  gift  of  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars, to  take  our  schooner,  the  Itrovide,  and  a  number 
of  small  boats  we  had  ciaptured  since,  while  trying  to 
run  into  Mazatlan  with  supplies,  away  from  us.  We 
saw  the  vessel  approaching,  and  could  have  made  our 
escape  ;  but,  having  no  suspicion,  made  no  effort  to  do 
so,  as  it  had  been  a  common  thing  for  vessels  to  come 
into  our  port  for  water.  The  Eclipse  came  alongside , 
of  our  schooner,  hailed  us,  and  ordered  us  ashore  as 
pirates  !  We  replied  that  they  were  meddling  with 
business  that  did  not  concern  them,  and,  as  many  of  us 
on  board  were  Americans,  they  might  hear  from  us 
afterwards  ;  but  the  commander  insisted  on  our  going 
IT 


2.")2  A   LITERAL   PICKET. 

ashore  at  once,  and  we  left  our  valuable  prize  as  soon 
as  tliey  boarded  us,  knowing  that  they  were  too  strong 
for  us  to  resist. 

We  had  taken  ten  or  eleven  little  vessels  and  boats 
that  were  bringing  provisions  to  the  troops  in  Mazat- 
lan,  and  had  the  town  nearly  reduced  by  starvation. 
Among  the  vessels  was  one  loaded,  apparently,  with 
copper  ore.  As  shipments  of  copper  were  common,  we 
did  not  think  of  looking  for  anything  more  valuable. 
The  captain  of  this  vessel  escaped,  and  reported  to  Gen- 
eral Arteigo  that  we  had  taken  his  vessel,  and  that  the 
lower  part  of  his  cargo  was  bars  of  silver,  which  the 
copper  ore  concealed.  The  bishop  and  general  could 
well  afford  to  give  ten  thousand  dollars  to  get  posses- 
sion of  this  treasure,  and  they  and  their  sympathizing 
friend,  the  English  commander,  made  a  good  thing  out 
of  it.  In  about  a  week  the  English  commander  sent 
the  Itrovide  to  Acapulco  for  supplies.  Near  the 
Las  Tres  Marias  Islands,  she  sunk,  and,  our  vessel 
stolen  from  us  so  shamefully  went  to  the  bottom,  with 
sixty  Englishmen  on  board.  Of  course  we  shed  no 
tears  over  their  shijjwreck. 

Our  siege  of  the  place  still  continued,  and  I  submit- 
ted to  my  humble  duties  on  shore  with  as  good  grace 
as  possible,  after  being  the  hero  of  naval  ex]3loits,  &c. 
A  part  of  my  duty  was  to  superintend  the  guard  and 
see  to  its  being  changed  ev(^ry  six  hours.  Occasionally 
I  went  out  with  the  picket-guard,  and  sometimes  at  the 
head  of  a  foraging  party,  I  was  gathering  supplies 
from  th(^  neighboring  towns.  The  negro  we  had  found 
on  board  the  Itrovide  had  joined  our  party,  and  was 
one  night  on  guard  when  I  was  in  cliai-ge  of  the  picket 
line.  The  orders  to  sentinels  were  to  hail  all  strangers 
with  the  usual  "Who  comes  there?"  and  repeat  it 


STRATEGY   OF   MORALES.  253 

three  times.  If,  after  that,  there  was  no  response,  to 
fire.  The  negro  was  on  guard  for  the  first  time,  and  I 
had  explained  to  him  fully  how  to  give  the  challenge. 
About  midnight  I  was  aroused  by  his  yelling,  ''  Wlio 
cum  dar  tree  times?"  and  bang  went  his  gun  before  I 
could  reach  him. 

"  What's  the  matter  ? "  I  asked. 

"  Whoeber  it  is,  I  got  him,"  said  he. 

The  camp  was  aroused,  and  we  soon  discovered  the 
cause  of  alarm.  An  unlucky  jackass,  browsing  in  the 
brush,  had  come  too  near  to  the  darkey,  and  he  had 
shot  him  between  the  eyes  ;  and  there  he  lay  Idcking 
on  the  ground.  The  next  morning  our  quartermaster 
had  to  pay  a  Mexican  twelve  dollars  and  a  half  for  his 
jackass. 

The  next  day  we  learned  that  a  reinforcement  of 
troops  belonging  to  the  church  party,  calling  themselves 
"the  Lord's  troops,"  had  come  to  the  relief  of  Mazat- 
lan.  They  were  under  the  lead  of  Perez  Gomez,  a 
noted  Castilian.  Our  commander  found  out  that  only 
a  part  had  arrived,  and  that  the  remainder  were  expect- 
ed soon.  General  Morales  now  displayed  his  peculiar 
tactics  again.  He  sent  men  to  report  in  Mazatlan  that 
we  were  completely  demoralized,  and  about  to  retire  to 
the  mountains.  After  allowing  sufficient  time  for  this 
report  to  be  circulated,  the  bugle  summoned  us  to  pre- 
pare for  marching,  and  we  started  about  midnight  away 
fi-om  Mazatlan  towards  Cosala,  most  of  the  enemy's 
troops  pursuing  us  the  next  morning  under  the  com- 
mand of  General  Inguanzo.  General  Gomez  and  Gen- 
eral Arteigo  did  not  take  part  in  this  pursuit. 

After  a  march  of  two  days,  we  arrived  at  a  plain  be- 
tween two  mountains,  with  thick  woods  on  both  sides 
of  the  road  ;  and  here  to  the  right  and  left  we  secreted 


2r)4  SUCCESS   OF   AX    AMBUSCADE. 

our  forces  in  ambush.  We  had  received  a  dispatch 
from  General  Coranow,  who  was  on  the  way  from 
Chihuahua  with  eight  hundred  troops  coming  to  our 
aid,  that  he  woukl  take  this  main  route,  and  we  now 
expected  him  momentaril}^  Still,  to  make  all  sure, 
General  Morales  had  sent  a  messenger  forward  to  halt 
Coranow' s  forces,  some  distance  back,  so  that  the 
Lord' s  troops  would,  after  getting  safely  past  us,  find 
themselves  attacked  in  front,  while  we  sprang  out  from 
our  ambush  and  attacked  them  in  their  rear.  The  plan 
worked  to  a  charm.  General  Coranow  arrived  about 
an  hour  before  the  battle,  and  stationed  his  force  across 
the  road  and  in  among  the  trees  as  agreed.  On  came 
the  Lord' s  troops  in  hot  pursuit.  Some  dressed  like 
priests,  in  long  robes  with  saintly  hoods,  and  none 
dreaming  of  danger.  At  a  given  signal,  we  rose  and 
poured  in  a  deadly  volley  before  they  could  organize 
for  defense.  Our  artillery  also  began  to  play  on  them, 
when,  seeing  themselves  surrounded,  and  with  no  way 
of  escape,  they  raised  the  white  flag  and  surrendered 
unconditionally.  We  got  twelve  pieces  of  artillery 
and  all  their  equipments,  and  made  prisoners  of  nearly 
all  their  force,  which  numbered  about  two  thousand. 
General  Inguanzo  and  some  of  their  cavalry  escaped  ; 
but  we  captured  General  Revoyella,  the  second  in  com- 
mand, and  brought  him  to  Mazatlan,  where  he  was 
sentenced  to  death.  The  church  party  offered  a  large 
amount  to  save  the  life  of  this  general,  but  De  Vega 
insisted  on  his  being  shot. 

We  returned  with  a  force  of  about  twenty-seven  hun- 
dred, including  General  Coranow' s  command,  and 
walked  into  Mazatlan  without  difficulty,  as  the  troops 
had  nearly  all  deserted  the  town  on  learning  the  dis- 
astrous results  of  the  pursuit.     In  addition  to  this, 


CAPTURE   OF    MAZATLAN,  255 

more  than  half  of  the  two  thousand  prisoners  consented 
to  serve  on  our  side.  Others  who  were  stu]>born  wp 
placed  at  work  on  the  fortitications  of  Mazatlan  and  in 
covering  up  the  numerous  artificial  pitfalls  which  the 
Lord's  troops  had  constructed  in  the  streets  for  our 
army  to  fall  into,  in  case  we  captured  theii*  city.  In 
eacli  pitfall  sharp  stakes  were  driven,  so  that  men  or 
horses  in  falling  would  be  pierced  through. 

General  Gomez,  General  Artiego,  and  the  bishop, 
with  priests,  officers,  &c.,  escaped  from  the  city  by 
going  on  board  the  English  man  of  war  "Eclipse," 
and  sailing  away,  leaving  the  remnant  of  theii'  troops 
in  the  city  to  escape  as  they  could.  General  Gomez 
afterwards  sailed  for  Spain,  having  married  a  rich  wife, 
and  preferred  to  leave  with  her  for  a  country  where 
there  would  be  more  safety  for  his  head.  Requisi- 
tions were  made  under  wdiicli  we  w^ere  paid  two  months 
wages.  Colonel  Norton,  Captain  Ball,  and  myself, 
each  received  from  De  Yega  a  splendid  marine  saber, 
worth  seventy-five  dollars,  as  a  present  in  honor  of  our 
capture  of  the  Itrovide  vessel  of  war. 

AVe  released  all  the  liberals  that  we  found  in  jail  at 
Mazatlan,  many  of  whom  were  incarcerated  in  cells  for 
no  crime  except  that  of  favoring  our  cause. 

W(-  lil)erated  one  old  man  who  had  been  arrested  for 
selling  mule-meat  for  beef  to  the  half- famished  soldiers 
(before  we  entered  the  place),  but  we  set  him  free,  con- 
sidering the  meat  good  enough  for  them,  and  much 
more  desimble  than  starvation. 

AVe  found  a  fore-and-aft  schooner  in  port,  called  the 
Epala,  which  we  fitted  up  as  a  coast  guard.  Tlirc-e 
captains  and  some  others  of  the  church  party  were 
placed  on  board  for  safe  keeping.  Captain  Avilles,  the 
officer  in  charge,  came  ashore  with  some  marines  one 


256  PRIZES   AT   SAN   BLAS. 

day  to  get  orders  for  a  cruise  down  the  coast.  The 
prisoners,  who  were  not  ironed,  discovered  the  re- 
duced number  of  the  crew,  and,  rising  up,  they 
overpowered  the  force  on  board  and  put  out  to  sea, 
making,  evidently,  for  San  Bias.  There  w^as  another 
schooner  in  port,  called  the  Lord  Raglan,  a  vessel  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  and  I  proposed  to  Colonel 
Norton  that  we  should  take  her  with  a  proper  force  and 
go  in  pursuit,  and  with  a  twenty -four  pounder  which 
was  on  board,  I  thought  we  could  capture  or  sink  the 
runaways.  On  submitting  the  proposition  to  General 
Morales,  he  favored  it,  and  offered  us  the  use  of  another 
schooner,  the  "Seventeenth,"  which  had  just  arrived 
in  port.  Both  vessels  were  soon  under  way,  with  one 
hundred  and  fifty  soldiers  on  each,  besides  the  crews. 
We  arrived  in  San  Bias  about  four  hours  after  the  run- 
away schooner  had  anchored  in  a  basin  around  the 
pomt,  under  cover  of  a  battery  of  two  small  guns  on 
the  hill-side.  I  transferred  fifty  men  to  Colonel  Nor- 
ton, making  his  force  two  hundred,  with  which  he  was 
to  cut  out  the  Epala,  while  I  bombarded  the  town. 
There  was  a  garrison  there  of  six  hundred  church 
troops,  and  I  did  not  hesitate  to  open  fire,  but  blazed 
away  with  my  shells  at  short  range,  and  soon  the  cus- 
tom house  was  in  flames,  and  the  fire  spread  among 
the  palm-thatched  roofs  till  half  the  town  was  burned. 
While  I  was  thus  engaged  in  the  bombardment, 
Colonel  Norton,  with  tlie  aid  of  Captain  Avilles,  had 
retaken  the  Ejoala,  killing  one  of  the  officers  who  ran 
off  the  schooner.  The  other  officers  succeeded  in 
making  their  escape,  which  was  very  fortunate  for 
them,  for  Avilles  was  furious  in  his  anger  toward  th(^ 
men  wlio  had  thus  stolen  a  march  on  him,  and  would 
spare  no  prisoners. 


EXPEDITION    AGAINST   LOZADO.  257 

After  the  vessel  had  Ix'cn  recaptured,  Colonel  Norton 
landed  his  men  and  signalled  me,  asliad  been  pi-evious- 
ly  agreed  upon,  to  follow,  whicli  I  did  with  seventy-five 
men,  leaving  a  lieutenant  and  twent^'^-five  soldiers  to 
man  the  gun  and  take  charge  of  the  vessel.  Very  little 
resistance  was  offered,  for  our  united  forces  soon 
di'ove  the  church  party  out  of  town.  Their  loss  must 
have  been  fifty  or  more  killed,  while  ours  was  slight. 
We  returned  to  the  custom  house,  and  found  the  walls 
still  standing.  As  they  were  built  of  adobes,  and  the 
floor  of  stone,  nothing  was  burned  except  the  roof  and 
thin  partition  walls,  with  tritling  furniture.  Breaking 
open  the  safe  we  found  five  thousand  dollars,  which, 
with  the  enemy' s  two  field-pieces,  we  carried  on  board 
as  prizes.  We  returned  to  Mazatlan  with  our  prizes, 
and  were  welcomed  with  salutes  from  our  trooi^s,  who 
were  drawn  up  on  the  beach  to  see  us  land.  We  were 
cheered  for  our  success,  and  complimented  by  the  com- 
mander, who  allowed  us  to  divide  the  five  thousand 
dollars  among  ourselves. 

Shortly  after  this  expedition,  General  Coranow  re- 
ceived orders  to  prepare  for  marching,  with  two  thou- 
sand troops,  against  the  Indians  and  Mexicans  who 
were  posted  at  Tepic,  twenty -five  miles  back  of  San 
Bias.  Their  leader  was  the  noted  desperado  and  In- 
dian chief  Lozado,  and  they  were  fighting  for  tlie  cliurch 
cause.  Our  force  was  organized,  and  myself  and  Cap- 
tain Brown  were  put  in  charge  of  the  artillery.  I  had 
two  twenty-four  pounders  and  he  had  two  twelves. 
Our  force  was  divided,  part  going  over  land,  and  part 
by  water,  to  San  Bias.  There  we  united  and  marched 
on  Tepic.  When  we  arrived  near  Tepic  we  found  there 
were  from  four  to  five  thousand  of  the  enemy,  mostly 
Indians,  in  the  town.     We  opened  lire  on  them  about 


258  SOLD    OUT. 

ten  in  the  morning  and  by  four  in  the  afternoon  were 
driving  the  Indians  ont  of  town,  when  General  Coranow, 
our  leader,  received  a  shot  through  the  right  tliigh 
which  shattered  the  bone.  It  was  the  result  of  his 
rashness  and  imprudence,  for  he  was  with  the  advance, 
driving  the  Indians  through  the  town,  lancing  and 
shooting  them  down  in  the  street,  when  the  fatal  shot 
was  llred  from  an  upj^er  window,  and  he  fell.  Firing 
ceased  then  on  both  sides,  with  the  Indians  whipped, 
as  ^^'e  hoped.  Coranow  died  at  9  o'  clock,  during  the 
operation  of  amputation,  which  fact  was  kept  secret 
from  the  soldiers.  Next  in  command  of  our  army  was 
Cordero,  a  desperate  villain,  under  whose  orders  firing 
recommenced  at  daybreak.  We  fought  till  8  o'  clock, 
when  Captain  Brown  of  the  artillery  fell  dead  at  my 
side,  with  a  bullet  through  his  breast.  The  Indians 
were  retreating,  and  we  had  the  advantage,  wlien  a 
bugle  sounded  on  our  side  to  cease  firing.  I  heard  the 
bugle,  but  after  putting  my  first  sergeant  in  Caj^tain 
Brown' s  place,  I  continued  firing,  when  Cordero  rode 
up  to  me,  and  cried  out : 

"  Didn't  you  hear  the  bugle  sound  for  a  parley  ?" 
"  How  could  you  expect  a  man  to  hear  a  bugle  when 
cannon  are  firing  the  way  they  are  ?  "  I  replied. 

I  asked  Cordero  what  lie  meant  by  a  parley.  He 
said  he  was  going  to  liokl  a  short  consultation  with  the 
Indian  chief  Lozado.  I  tokl  liim  I  didn't  see  the  neces- 
sity of  any  truce,  when  we  had  them  so  nearly  flogged ; 
and  he  replied  that  he  knew  his  business.  In  an  hour 
I  found  out  to  my  sorrow  what  the  traitorous  old  scamp 
intended  by  his  truce,  for  we  were  completely  sold  out, 
bag  and  baggage,  to  the  Indian  chief  Lozado,  for  the 
sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars.  By  the  terms,  we  sur- 
rendered   our    artillery,   arms,    ammunition,   horses, 


RETURN   TO    MAZATLAN,  2.')9 

equipments,  &c.,  and  even  our  side  arms  in  most  cases 
were  taken  from  us.  My  beautiful  nuirine  saber,  pre- 
sented me  by  De  Yegu,  was  taken  with  the  rest,  and  in 
its  place  a  little  short  thing  given  me,  which  I  threw 
against  an  artillery  wagon.  If  I  had  shot  Cordero, 
when  he  bade  me  cease  firing,  and  taken  command  of 
the  force  myself,  we  should  have  beaten  the  enemy  com- 
pletely, and  I  should  have  been  promoted.  I  was 
tempted  to  do  so,  for  I  suspected  some  treachery,  and 
from  his  villainous  looks  I  regarded  him  as  more  fit  for 
a  prison  than  for  the  head  of  an  army.  Cordero  re- 
served his  fine  riding  horse,  and  eighteen  or  twenty 
pack-mules  to  carry  his  money  and  baggage,  including 
his  own  and  that  of  General  Coranow,  which  he  appro- 
priated as  well  as  three  or  four  thousand  dollars  in 
specie  which  the  deceased  general  had  taken  along  for 
the  use  of  the  army.  He  also  retained  an  escort  of 
fifty  armed  soldiers,  whom  he  selected  from  our  ranks, 
who  remained  friendly  to  him.  It  was  suspected  that 
Coranow  had  been  poisoned  in  the  amputation  by  the 
connivance  of  this  traitor,  for  the  surgeon  employed 
was  a  citizen  of  Tepic  and  a  zealous  churchman. 

In  this  engagement  the  enemy  had  lost  from  four  to 
five  hundred  men,  and  our  loss  was  about  two  hun- 
dred ;  in  one  sense  a  victory,  and  in  another,  a  shame- 
ful defeat ;  for  we  now  were  compelled  to  return  to  San 
Bias  and  get  back  to  Mazatlan  the  best  way  we  could. 
There  was  not  a  horse  belonging  to  the  party  ;  and  our 
wounded  we  were  compelled  to  leave  at  Tepic,  to  tli<^ 
tender  mercies  of  cut-throats  and  savages.  Mournfully 
and  silently  we  buried  our  brave  commander,  Coranow, 
and  tlieu  b(\gan  our  weary  march  across  the  plains  and 
over  the  hills,  to  starve  upon  the  route,  perhaps,  for  we 
were  only  allowed  to  take  two  days'  rations  out  of  our 


260  I   MAKE   A   DISCOVEEY. 

own  quarter-master' s  stores.  These  were  tlie  liberal 
terms  that  the  traitor  had  arranged  for  us  ! 

We  kept  our  force  from  straggling  as  much  as  possi- 
ble, from  fear  of  guerrillas,  and  finally  arrived  at 
Acaponeta,  a  town  of  a  thousand  inhabitants.  We 
were  footsore,  tired,  and  hungry,  and  had  to  sleep  on 
the  ground  without  blankets.  I  was  awakened  in  the 
niglit  by  the  musquitoes,  and,  being  very  thirsty,  went 
to  a  house  in  the  distance,  where  there  was  a  light,  in 
search  of  water.  Looking  in,  as  I  approaclied,  I  saw 
Cordero  sitting  at  a  long  table,  with  his  face  toward  me, 
dealing  the  game  of  monte,  witli  several  Mexicans  sit- 
ting opposite  and  betting  against  him.  He  had  two  or 
three  thousand  dollars  in  gold  by  him  on  the  table.  It 
made  my  blood  boil  to  see  that  he  had  followed  us,  and 
in  this  gambling  house  was  operating  with  the  money 
he  had  sold  us  for.  A  sentinel  was  lying  asleep  out- 
side by  the  door,  and,  looking  close,  though  there  was 
no  moon,  I  discerned  the  forms  of  twenty  or  thirty 
others,  who  lay  on  the  ground  asleep,  their  guns  by 
their  sides.  These  I  supposed  to  be  a  part  of  the  escort 
lie  had  selected  from  our  ranks.  Suddenly  an  idea 
popped  into  my  head.  I  hurried  back  to  my  first  ser- 
geant, and  waking  him,  asked  him  for  his  revolver, 
wliich  he  did  not  surrender  to  Lozado,  having  secreted 
it  when  they  took  our  arms. 

"  Wliat  are  you  going  to  do  ? "  he  asked. 

"Get  up,"  said  I,  "and  get  your  men  up,  and  be 
very  still." 

"What  is  it?"  he  asked. 

" Never  mind,"  I  answered.  "I  will  soon  tell  you. 
Rouse  up  your  men,  very  quick." 

I  soon  had  over  a  hundred  of  our  men  following  me, 
with  cat-like  tread,  over  to  th«  house  ;  and  on  the  way 


EXECUTION  OF  CORDERO.  261 

I  hinted  my  plan,  and  told  them  that  the  infamous 
Cordero  was  actually  the  object  of  capture  now ;  that 
he  was  at  his  old  tricks  of  gambling  in  a  house  close 
by,  &c.  We  stole  softly  up  to  the  house  and  seized 
the  guns  of  the  guard,  \vho  were  still  asleep.  They 
roused  up,  but  seeing  the  yard  full  of  their  old  com- 
rades, had  no  disposition  to  raise  tlu^  alarm,  but  felt 
disposed  to  join  us.  I  went  into  the  house  with  five  of 
my  men,  well  armed,  and  presenting  the  pistol  I  had 
taken  of  my  sergeant  to  the  head  of  Cordero,  I  de- 
manded his  money.  He  had  his  fifty  thousand  dollars 
in  the  room,  except  several  tliousand  he  had  lost  at 
monte  that  night  to  the  Mexican  gamblers  at  the  table. 
We  made  them  disgorge,  and  placed  them  under  ar- 
rest. By  this  time  the  room  was  full  of  my  men,  and 
the  doors  were  locked. 

' '  Captain  Hobbs, ' '  asked  the  traitor,  ' '  what  are  you 
going  to  do  with  me,  now  that  lam  you^  prisoner  ?" 

'Til  show  you  very  quick,''  said  I. 

Taking  him  out  into  a  hollow,  he  was  shot  by  my 
order,  as  I  was  perfectly  Availing  to  take  the  responsi- 
bility. All  our  troops  gathered  around  to  see  him  shot, 
and  half  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  aroused  by  the 
tumult,  came  around  to  learn  the  cause  of  the  uproar. 
By  daylight  nearly  every  man  in  the  plac(^  had  seen 
the  corpse,  and  heard  the  story  of  our  battle,  the  sur- 
render, the  weary  march,  and  our  terrible  sufferings. 
Hardly  any  one  justified  the  traitor  ;  though  some  of 
the  citizt'ns  of  the  place  wondered  at  Cordero' s  folly  in 
visiting  his  old  gambling  den  ;  but  this  place  was  off 
the  main  road  from  San  Bias  to  Mazatlan,  and  we 
turned  in  there  for  rest  and  i^rovisions.  Cordero  must 
have  arrived  after  we  had  laid  down  to  sleep,  in  a  large 
field  outside  of  the  village,  for  he  would  not  willingly 


262  ARRIVAL   AT   MAZATLAN. 

rush  into  our  presence.  We  made  a  demand  on  the  in- 
habitants for  provisions,  and  while  at  breaMast,  a  dis- 
patch came  from  De  Vega,  who  had  heard  of  CorderO's 
treachery,  requesting  me  to  see  that  the  traitor  was  as- 
sassinated before  he  lied  the  country.  I  sent  the  courier 
back  to  say  to  De  Vega  that  his  orders  were  executed 
even  before  they  arrived  !  and  sent  a  brief  report  of  our 
condition,  &c. 

I  also  levied  a  contribution  on  the  towu  for  cattle  and 
horses,  and  succeeded  in  getting  ten  head  of  cattle  and 
nearly  sixty  horses.  This  was  fortunate,  as  some  of 
our  men  were  worn  out  and  were  compelled  to  ride. 
We  mounted  as  many  as  possible  on  the  animals  of 
Cordero  and  his  guard,  and  made  the  guard  walk  as 
prisoners.  I  rode  Cordero' s  fine  horse,  and  had  a  sort 
of  body  guard  of  lame  and  sick  soldiers  riding  on 
either  side  of  me,  on  the  pack-mules,  that  carried  Cor- 
dero' s  baggage  and  the  money  he  got  of  Lozado. 

After  a  distressing  march  we  arrived  at  Mazatlan, 
Governor  Vega  and  Garcia  Morales  coming  out  on  the 
road  to  meet  us,  and  giving  us  a  hearty  welcome. 

"Captain,"  said  Morales  "  you' ve played  one  of  my 
old  tricks,  on  that  miserable  traitor."  Vega  thought 
we  should  have  scalped  him.  They  invited  me  into 
their  carriage,  and  the  troops  came  out  to  greet  us  with 
a  band  of  music,  and  colors  flying.  All  rejoiced  that 
we  had  returned  alive,  even  tliough  we  had  bad  luck. 
I  delivered  to  De  Vega  all  the  property  and  money 
taken  from  Cordero,  except  what  I  had  expended  for 
supplies  on  the  way.  The  escort  of  fifty  soldiers  were 
tried,  but  acquitted  on  the  ground  that  it  is  a  soldier's 
duty  to  render  obedience  to  his  commander. 


CHAPTER  XYII. 

THE  cause  of  the  liberals  was  gaining  in  favor 
among  the  common  people,  and  recruits  were 
daily  coming  in.  Several  hundred  liad  joined  our 
ranks  at  Mazathm,  while  we  were  absent  on  the  expe- 
dition against  Lozado.  Several  vessels  had  also  been 
captured,  and  the  surrounding  country  had  been  levied 
on  for  supplies  of  provisions  and  money  to  carry  on 
the  contest.  In  some  of  these  foraging  expeditions,  pre- 
vious to  going  to  Tepic,  I  had  excellent  luck,  and  also 
met  with  some  narrow  escapes.  I  was  one  day  inform- 
ed by  Governor  Yega,  that  a  vessel  was  expected 
shortly  from  Cliina,  with  a  valuable  cargo  belonging 
to  rich  Mexicans  of  the  church  party  living  at  A' ilia 
del  Fuerte  and  Alamos,  who  would  try  to  smuggle  in 
their  goods.  He  told  me  to  get  two  held  pieces  on 
board  of  a  schooner,  take  marines  and  soldiers  and 
watch  the  coast,  with  a  view  to  its  capture.  I  told 
him  I  was  no  sailor  ;  but  he  said  Captain  Ball  was,  and 
he  might  take  charge  of  the  vessel  and  I  command  the 
soldiers  and  marines.  He  offered  me  in  addition  to 
captain's  pay,  one-third  of  all  the  smuggled  goods 
captured  and  delivered  to  him. 

I  consented  to  make  the  attempt,  and  we  set  sail. 
Soon  after  we  left  port,  we  fell  in  with  a  vessel  from 
California,  and  inquired  of  her  captain  if  they  had 
seen  such  a  vessel  as  I  described.  He  said  they  had, 
and  she  was  putting  in  toward  the  mouth  of  the  Fuerte 
river.     I  gave  chase,  and  found  her  opposite  the  smug- 


2G4  CAPTURE   OF   A   SMUGGLER. 

gling  port  of  Omalia.     She  attempted  to  escape,  but  a 
shot  across  her  bow  stopped  her,  and  on  boarding  her 
we  found  it  was  the  vessel  we  were  in  search  of.     She 
was  a  prize  indeed,  liaving  a  cargo  which  was  worth 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  with  papers  for 
only  a  small  portion  of  it.     When  the  consignees  of 
the  cargo,  who  were  on  board,  having  come  off  in  a 
pilot  boat,  found  themselves  fairly  caught,  they  offered 
ten  thousand  dollars  to  be  released  ;  but  I  refused  to 
do  any  such  business.     Putting  a  guard  on  board  of 
her,  I  took  her  to  Mazatlan.     The  consignees  of  the 
cargo  went  ashore  when  we  arrived  at  Mazatlan,  where 
they  staid  two  or  three  days.     Finally  I  went  ashore 
and  saw  Yega.     He  said  the  busmess  was  all  arranged. 
I  said  if  it  was  all  arranged  it  was  all  right,  and  re- 
turned to  my  vessel.     Shortly  after,  he  came  aboard 
my  vessel  and  told  me  to  take  my  soldiers  ashore.     I 
asked  him  about  my  portion  of  the  cargo.     He  said  I 
should  lose  nothing  by  him.     The  owners  took  their 
vessel  away,  and  I  went  to  see  Vega  again.     He  said 
they  had  a  right  to  leave,  for  they  had  proper  papers. 
I  said:    "That  is  played  out,  Mr.  Governor.      They 
offered  me  ten  thousand  dollars  to  let  them  off,  and  I 
am  sure  they  had  no  papers."      He  made  but  little 
answer ;  I  never  got  a  cent,  however,  for  my  services, 
but  I  learned,  afterwards,  that  Vega  was  bribed  by  the 
owners  with  a  present  of  fifty  thousand  dollars.     I 
told  General  Morales  what  our  contract  was,  and  he 
said  it  was  not  the  first  mean  trick  Vega  had  been 
guilty  of. 

It  was  not  long  before  De  Vega  sent  for  me  to  go  and 
take  a  smuggling  vessel  loaded  with  silver,  which  he 
had  heard  of.  Said  I :  "  Governor,  you  did  not  treat 
me  right  about  the  smuggled  goods,  and  I  shall  not 


tkeacii?:ky  of  de  vega,  265 

go."  He  said  lie  would  order  me  under  arrest.  I  told 
liini  to  do  so,  but  that  it  would  not  change  my  mind  at 
all.  He  ordered  me  under  arrest,  but  General  Morales 
and  Governor  Pesc^uiera,  of  Sonora,  remonstrated  with 
him,  telling  him  it  was  a  shame  to  treat  me  so  after  the 
important  services  I  had  rendered.  They  got  an  order 
of  release,  but  I  refused  to  leave  the  barracks  in  which 
I  was  confined  on  my  word  of  honor.  I  demanded  a 
trial,  though  after  further  conversation  I  agreed  to  come 
out,  but  notified  him  that  I  should  not  fight  any  more 
under  such  leaders,  and  particularly  under  De  Vega. 

Soon  afterwards,  De  Vega  made  a  requisition  for  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  to  go  to  San  Fran- 
cisco, to  buy  arms.  He  got  the  money,  went  to  San 
Francisco  and  never  returned  until  the  war  with  Max- 
imilian, when  he  went  to  Tepic,  joined  the  Indian  chief 
Lozado,  on  the  Imperial  side,  and  is  perhaps  still  liv- 
ing among  the  mountains  of  that  region. 

After  the  defalcation  of  De  Vega,  Senor  Ignatio 
Pesquiera,  the  governor  of  Sonora,  succeeded  as  the  gov- 
ernor of  Cinaloa  ;  thus  being  governor  of  two  states. 
He  had  a  deputy  in  Sonora. 

Soon  after  he  was  made  governor  of  Cinaloa,  Gov- 
ernor Pesquiera  issued  orders  for  another  expedition  to 
be  organized  to  operate  against  the  famous  Lozado  and 
his  tribe.  The  shame  of  the  former  disastrous  surren- 
der still  rankled  in  my  breast,  and  I  and  my  compan- 
ions in  arms  were  perfectly  willing  to  engage  in  a 
second  expedition,  if  commandt^d  by  faithful  oflicers. 
We  had  received  a  valuable  addition  to  our  force  in 
Mazatlan  just  previous  to  this  order,  by  the  arrival  of 
fifteen  hundred  troops  under  General  Lanberg.  Gov- 
ernor Pesquiera  entrusted  the  charge  of  this  expedition 
to  General  Lanberg,  and  sent  with   him   nearly  four 


266  SECOND   EXPEDITION  AGAINST   LOZADO. 

thousand  troops,  including  artillery  and  a  small  pro- 
portion of  cavalry.  Some  of  tlie  troops  went  from 
Mazatlan  to  San  Bias  by  land,  and  some  by  water. 
Near  San  Bias  we  joined  our  forces,  and  marched  on 
Tepic.  General  Corona,  who  joined  us  at  San  Bias  by 
water,  was  another  new  officer,  and  as  he  had  a  good 
military  reputation,  he  was  made  second  in  command. 
This  was  the  same  General  Corona  who  afterwards  re- 
ceived Maximilian' s  sword  when  he  surrendered.  Gen- 
eral Rojas  had  charge  of  the  cavalry. 

This  Indian  chief,  Lozado,  was  a  remarkable  charac- 
ter. In  his  youth  he  was  a  servant,  and  shamefully 
abused  by  his  master,  who  whipped  his  mother  to 
death  for  some  trifling  offense.  This  made  Lozado  a 
desperado  and  outlaw,  for  he  took  to  the  mountains 
with  a  few  miserable  followers ;  and  they  organized  a 
regular  system  of  guerrilla  warfare  and  robbery.  He 
captured  his  former  master  and  tortured  him  till  he 
died.  After  years  of  warfare,  he  had  gathered  several 
thousand  Indians  and  half-breeds  around  him  ;  and  as 
they  made  their  head-quarters  in  the  mountains,  all 
the  expeditions  which  had  been  sent  against  him  were 
perfect  failures.  On  the  former  occasion  when  we 
were  ordered  to  Tepic  to  fight  this  Indian  chief,  his 
troops  were  gathered  in  tlie  town,  and  we  had  a  fair 
field,  and  should  have  beaten  them  if  the  treachery  of 
our  leader  had  not  prevented.  On  the  present  occa- 
sion, when  Lozado  heard  of  our  advance  upon  Tepic, 
instead  of  remaining  there  with  his  tribe,  he  withdrew 
to  the  mountains,  where  he  knew  we  could  not  follow 
him.  His  followers  were  devoted  to  him,  and  brave  to 
the  last  degree.  He  was  an  autocrat, — as  much  so  as 
Brigham  Young.  His  Indians  were  all  Catholics  ;  and 
with  him  were  priests  who  told  these  ignorant  fanatics 


BETllAYED   BY   GUIDES.  267 

tliat  if  they  fell  li<j;liting  for  the  church  they  would 
shortly  be  restored  to  life.  In  this  belief,  when  we 
fought  them  first,  these  deluded  savages  rushed  up  to 
the  muzzles  of  our  cannon  to  stop  their  mouths  with 
blankets  and  thus  keep  the  balls  from  coming  out. 
When  we  blew  some  to  pieces  others  took  their  places. 
When  our  forces  arrived  at  Tepic  and  found  the 
place  nearly  deserted,  we  divided  into  two  parties  ; 
one-half  the  infantry,  under  General  Corona,  marching 
for  the  mountains,  with  two  light  mountain  howitzers, 
with  orders  to  co-operate  with  the  cavalry  under  Gen- 
eral Rojas,  who  was  to  follow  us  the  next  day.  Gen- 
eral Lanberg  remained  at  Tepic  for  a  base  of  operations, 
and  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  surrounding  us  and 
cutting  off  our  retreat  in  case  of  failure.  I  was  in 
charge  of  the  howitzers,  with  the  force  of  General 
Corona,  and  we  cautiously  advanced  among  the  moun- 
tains to  discover  the  favorite  retreat,  or  head-quarters 
of  Lozado.  Upon  climbing  around  under  the  summit 
of  the  Sierra  de  Allico,  a  beautiful  view  was  presented. 
Here  was  a  narrow,  grassy  plain,  surrounded  by  rocky 
walls  nearly  perpendicular  and  towering  up  hundreds 
of  feet,  and  at  the  further  end  of  the  plain  it  termina- 
ted in  a  narrow  canyon,  or  defile  between  the  moun- 
tains. The  outlet  seemed  to  be  hedged  up  by  a  sort  of 
gate  or  mass  of  obstructions.  In  entering  this  place 
we  had  come  through  by  a  road  hardly  wide  enough 
for  two  teams  to  pass,  and  we  begun  to  fear  that  we 
were  entrapped  by  our  treacherous  guide  we  had  taken 
from  Tepic.  As  we  turned  to  retreat  tlie  wny  Ave 
came  in,  huge  rocks  began  to  roll  down  the  sidi^s  of 
the  mountain,  crushing  many  of  our  men.  To  add  to 
our  calamity,  there  was  no  possible  chance  to  return 
through  the  narrow  passage  by  which  we  entered,  as- 
18 


268         ORDERED  TO  JOIN  ZARAGOSA. 

the  Indians  were  just  above,  on  the  hillsides,  prepared 
to  annihilate  lis  if  we  did  so,  and  had  rolled  huge 
boulders  into  the  road,  nearly  obstructing  it.  For  two 
days  we  remained  there,  Avithout  provisions,  as  our 
pack  mules,  loaded  with  rations,  did  not  enter  tliis 
place,  being  in  the  rear,  and  we  could  not  communi- 
cate with  them.  All  these  hours  of  suspense  we  were 
expecting  the  cavalry  under  Rojas  to  come  to  our  aid. 
Finally  they  arrived  in  sight,  and  attacked  the  Indians 
from  a  point  where  they  could  drive  them  from  the 
rocks  above,  which  enabled  us  to  clamber  over  the  ob- 
structions and  retreat  out  of  this  prison,  with  the  loss 
of  twenty-four  men,  who  were  crushed  to  death,  seve- 
ral mules  killed,  and  one  artillery  carriage  smashed 
in  pieces.  The  reason  that  General  Rojas  did  not  get 
to  us  sooner  was  because  he  had  mistaken  our  route 
and  gone  over  thirty  miles  out  of  his  way  ;  all  planned, 
no  doubt,  by  his  two  Indian  guides,  who  pretended  to 
be  friendly.  They  escaped,  or  they  would  have  been 
shot,  as  our  guide  was.  We  all  returned  to  Tepic ; 
and  in  consultation  with  our  officers  there,  finally 
agreed  to  give  up  the  pursuit  after  Lozado  and  his 
tribe,  and  return  to  Mazatlan,  where  we  arrived  safely 
and  without  meeting  any  enemy. 

After  remaining  at  Mazatlan  about  a  month,  General 
Morales  received  a  dispatch  from  General  Zaragosa, 
ordering  him  to  send  a  force  of  two  thousand  men  to 
join  him  at  Sayula,  and  from  tlic^re  proceed  to  the  siege 
of  Guadalaxara.  General  Miramon  had  collected  a 
large  force  of  church  troops  at  this  place,  and,  by  a 
bold  stroke.  General  Zaragosa  intended  to  capture 
that  city,  with  all  its  ten  thousand  troops,  if  possible. 
The  force  was  speedily  organized,  under  General  Lan- 
berg,  and  proceeded  to  San  Bias,  part  by  water  and 


CAPTURE   OF   SEDITIOUS   PRIESTS.  209 

part  by  land,  meeting  again  at  Tepic,  as  on  a  former 
occasion.  We  made  a  forced  march,  onr  artillery  and 
cavalry  standing  it  VL^vy  well,  but  the  infantry  sulft-red 
considerably  on  the  route.  Part  of  the  infantry  were 
mounted  ;  and  whenever  we  could  make  a  raid  on  a 
ranclie  belonging  to  a  churchman,  and  get  mules  or 
horses,  we  did  so.  In  this  long  march  we  suffered  for 
want  of  provisions.  One  night,  at  a  little  deserted 
village,  whose  affrighted  inhabitants  had  fled,  our 
troops  fared  very  comfortably,  and  my  supper  was  en- 
riched by  the  addition  of  a  fat  turkey,  which  I  espied 
on  a  fence,  and  brought  into  camp.  My  first-sergeant 
in  the  artillery  was  lucky  enough  to  capture  a  well- 
filled  beehive,  and  our  mess  were  in  clover  that  night. 
We  destroyed  no  property  in  that  village,  but  consid- 
ered ourselves  entitled  to  all  the  provisions  and  animals 
we  found  abandoned.  We  captured  four  priests  the 
next  day,  by  the  aid  of  a  liberal,  who  came  to  us  and 
informed  us  where  they  had  secreted  themselves  at  a 
hacienda  a  little  off  our  route.  They  had  been  opera- 
ting against  us,  stirring  up  the  people  to  organize  into 
guerrilla  parties  to  interruj)t  us  in  our  progress.  We 
hung  two  of  them  to  a  tree  by  the  roadside,  and  the 
other  two  offered  to  join  our  cause  and  fight  with  us  if 
we  spared  their  lives.  General  Rojas  took  them  at 
their  word,  and  had  them  stripped  of  their  robes  and 
dressed  in  our  uniform.  One  of  them  escaped  in  the 
night,  and  the  other  was  hung  as  soon  as  General 
Rojas  was  informed  of  the  escajie  of  his  comrade. 

On  arriving  at  the  to\\ni  of  Sayula,  we  met  the  forces 
of  General  Zaragosa  encamped  near  the  to\Aii ;  and 
there  was  great  rejoicing  at  our  opportun(»  arrival,  for 
General  Zaragosa  wanted  to  march  on  Guadalaxara 
the  following  day.     Uniting  our  forces  we  numbered 


270  FATE   OF   THE   WOUIS^DED. 

about  ten  thousand,  and  expected  some  more  recruits 
to  join  us  before  we  reached  the  enemy's  camp  at  Gua- 
daiaxara. 

When  we  had  been  three  days  on  the  march,  we  met 
a  strong  force  of  tlie  enemy,  who  had  come  from  Gua- 
dalaxara  to  impede  our  progress,  so  that  Miramon 
would  have  time  for  reinforcements,  which  he  was 
daily  expecting,  to  arrive.  General  Zaragosa  quickly 
formed  us  in  line  of  battle,  and  in  two  hours  the  enemy 
were  forced  to  retreat,  with  a  loss  of  three  hundred 
killed,  and  nearly  as  many  wounded.  The  reason  that 
the  number  of  wounded  was  smaller  usually  than  the 
number  killed  was  that  our  troops  were  so  embittered 
against  the  church  party,  who  had  been  their  rulers 
and  persecutors  so  long,  tliat  they  were  unmerci- 
fully cruel  in  battle  to  those  desperately  wounded ; 
and  if  they  could  not  escape  they  fared  hard,  often 
being  helped  along  in  their  exit  to  the  spirit  land  by  a 
bayonet,  or  shot  as  we  ran  over  them  in  pursuit  of  a 
flying  foe.  In  the  present  instance,  Zaragosa  ordered 
us  to  charge  when  they  began  to  fall  back ;  and  we 
pursued  them  with  cavalry,  and  siezed  all  their  artil- 
lery, eight  pieces,  before  they  could  get  inside  the  for- 
tifications of  Guadalaxara. 

Our  army  was  now  in  high  glee,  and  all  expected  an 
easy  capture  of  the  city.  We  encamped  on  the  held, 
and  received  several  hundred  recruits  that  night,  who 
hearing  the  cannonading  and  witnessing  a  part  of  the 
battle  determined  to  join  the  winning  side.  The  next 
day  we  were  before  the  city,  and,  throwing  our  lines 
around  it,  began  that  night  the  work  of  intrenching. 
B(;fore  we  had  completed  our  work  the  fight  com- 
menced, and  continued  at  intervals  for  four  days,  with 
the  loss  of  several  hundred  men  on  each  side.     The 


MINING   THE   enemy's   BARRACKS.  271 

fifth  day  we  were  joined  by  Colonel  Clieeseman,  an  old 
United  States  army  ofRcer,  with  a  party  of  about  three 
liundred  Texan  Rangers  and  half-breed  Mexicans. 
Firing  had  now  ceased,  and  Colonel  Cheeseman's  ad- 
vice was  asked.  He  told  General  Zaragosa  that  he 
could  suggest  a  plan  of  taking  tlie  cit}^  without  so 
much  bloodshed,  which  was,  to  run  a  tunnel  from  a 
deep  ravine  on  the  south  side  of  the  city,  and  close  to 
the  principal  barracks.  The  tunnel  would  not  neces- 
sarily be  over  one  hundred  yards  in  length  to  run 
under  the  barracks,  and  by  exploding  a  mine  of  pow- 
der and  blowing  up  the  enemy,  at  night,  simultaneous 
with  a  grand  attack  by  our  whole  force,  we  should 
have  an  easy  victory.  The  plan  suited  General  Zaia- 
gosa,  and  he  gave  Colonel  Clieeseman  the  charge  of 
the  work.  Three  hundred  sharpshooters  were  placed 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  ravine,  to  shoot  all  who 
showed  their  heads  above  the  enemy's  works,  and  two 
liundred  Mexicans  were  set  at  work,  with  picks  and 
shovels,  in  the  construction  of  the  tunnel.  Occasional 
firing  was  kept  up,  and  they  were  closely  besieged  till 
th(^  tunnel  was  finished,  and  the  mine  charged  with 
powder.  When  all  was  ready,  and  our  army  aroused, 
before  daybreak,  and  prepared  for  the  assault,  the 
mine  was  sprung.  About  five  hundred  of  the  enemy 
in  the  barracks  were  killed  by  the  explosion,  the  air 
being  filled  with  flying  bricks,  stones,  dirt,  and  rublnsh, 
as  well  as  fragments  of  human  bodies.  Our  attack 
was  well  planned,  and  the  enemy  were  panic  stricken 
when  they  found  that  we  were  shelling  every  part  of 
the  city.  General  ISIiramon,  who  was  not  in  the  bar- 
racks, succeeded  in  escaping  ^vith  six  or  eight  thous- 
and men  and  several  pieces  of  artillery,  but  abandoned 
most  of  liis  stores  and  wagon  trains,  of  which  we  stood 


272  COLONEL   CIIEESEMAN   POISONED. 

in  need.  Tlieii-  defense  was  spirited,  considering  the 
circumstances,  for  they  fought  us  about  an  hour  before 
they  retreated,  during  which  I  lost  twenty  of  my  artil- 
lerymen. 

Colonel  O'Roscoe,  after  our  army  had  entered  the 
city,  proposed  to  General  Zaragosa  to  select  a  suitable 
force  and  pursue  General  Miramon.  Accordingly  he 
was  placed  in  command  of  about  four  thousand 
mounted  men,  including  several  batteries  of  light  guns, 
and  we  started  and  overhauled  the  straggling  army  at 
San  Juan,  cutting  it  up  fearfully,  and  nearly  capturing 
General  Miramon,  who  escaped  in  disguise.  Their 
artillery  was  surrendered,  and  many  arms  were  taken 
from  their  troops,  who  were  so  demoralized  that  they 
fled,  after  an  hour' s  fight,  in  every  direction.  We  re- 
turned to  Guadalaxara  after  two  days'  absence,  and 
found  that  Colonel  Cheeseman  had  been  poisoned  by  a 
Mexican  woman  where  he  boarded.  It  was  ascertain- 
ed that  the  priests  and  bishops  had  paid  her  ten  thous- 
and dollars  to  take  his  life,  as  they  considered  him  a 
very  dangerous  man  to  their  cause.  The  Colonel  was 
buried  after  a  post-mortem  examination  had  revealed 
strychnine  in  his  stomach.  The  woman  was  arrested 
and  confessed  that  ten  priests  and  men  in  holy  orders 
were  her  accomplices,  having  induced  her  to  do  the 
deed.  The  next  morning  her  head  was  found  on  one 
side  of  the  street  and  her  body  on  the  other.  The  ten 
priests  and  bishops  were  immediately  hung  as  acces- 
sories, one  of  them  confessing  tlie  crime.  The  same 
day,  six  officers  that  we  had  taken  prisoners  were  tried, 
and  four  were  shot,  while  two  were  spared  on  condi- 
tion of  joining  our  ranks,  as  they  j)roved  that  they 
had  been  impressed  into  fighting  on  the  other  side. 
We  remained  here  two  weeks,  the  city  presenting  a 


ORDERED   TO   CIXALOA.  273 

very  desolate  ai)i)('iiraiice  after  the  battle.  Learning 
that  General  Miramon,  who  escaped  at  the  battle  of 
San  Juan,  had  reorganized  a  large  force,  and  was  on 
his  way  to  meet  us,  we  made  preparations  for  an  ad- 
vance against  him.  Our  troops,  numbering  about  two- 
thirds  of  our  entire  force,  marched  against  him,  confi- 
dent of  his  speedy  overthrow.  When  the  opposing 
armies  met  on  the  field  we  found  they  outnumbered  us 
nearly  two  to  one.  General  Zaragosa  commanded 
our  forces,  and  the  fight  was  a  tedious  one,  lasting  tw^o 
days,  terminating  in  a  loss  of  about  seven  hundred 
killed  on  each  side ;  but  we  held  the  field  and  took 
about  two  hundred  prisoners,  among  whom  was  Gene- 
ral Toledo,  who  was  shot  immediately  after.  General 
Miramon  withdrew  from  the  field,  and  marched  his 
army  to  the  city  of  Mexico  ;  and  we  returned  to  Gua- 
dalaxara,  where  General  Zaragosa  recruited  his  forces 
and  fortified  the  city. 

Soon  after  our  return  to  Guadalaxara,  Colonel  Nor- 
ton and  myself  received  orders  to  take  two  hundred 
and  fifty  men  and  return  to  Cinaloa.  On  the  route  we 
were  attacked  by  Lozado's  Indian  warriors  on  three 
occasions,  but  escaped  with  the  loss  of  seven  men  and 
one  piece  of  artillery.  The  Indians  outnumbered  us 
six  to  one,  and  all  that  saved  us  was  that  we  were  all 
wt41  mounted.  We  arived  at  Mazatlan  \vithout  further 
molestation,  and  were  cordially  received  by  our  old 
comrades  and  friends.  General  Morales  informed  us 
that  we  had  been  sent  for  to  scour  the  country  of  Cina- 
loa, and  bring  in  recruits  for  the  liberal  party,  in  anti- 
cipation of  a  decisive  battle,  which  it  was  expected 
would  soon  come  off  at  the  city  of  Mexico,  or  in  that 
vicinity.  We  traveled  about,  over  the  state,  for  sev- 
eral   w^eeks^   raising    nearly  two    thousand    recruits. 


27i  OKDEKED   TO    jIEXICO. 

Wherever  our  troop  of  cavalry  appeared,  it  was  easy 
to  piclv  up  volunteers,  and  when  we  had  raised  any 
considerable  number,  we  levied  on  horses  and  mules 
sufficient  to  mount  them  in  good  shape,  and  dispatch- 
ed them  to  Mazatlan. 

While  engaged  in  this  work,  we  had  a  severe  engage- 
ment with  the  enemy's  troops,  under  a  leader  by  the 
name  of  Coghen.  Our  party  numbered  about  four 
hundred,  and  we  fought  them  at  a  place  called  Espenal, 
taldng  many  prisoners  and  several  officers,  who  were 
shot,  by  order  of  General  Lanberg,  after  we  returned 
with  them  to  Mazatlan.  Coghen,  however,  made  his 
escape  from  the  field,  with  the  remnant  of  his  force, 
but  was  overtaken  several  days  after,  and  hung,  by 
the  liberals.  We  remained  at  Mazatlan  a  short  time, 
to  get  the  recruits  well  drilled,  and  then  had  orders  to 
march  for  the  city  of  Mexico. 

We  started  from  Mazatlan  with  all  the  mounted 
force  that  could  be  organized,  and  all  the  artillery  that 
could  be  spared,  taking  an  overland  route  through 
Zacatecas,  where  we  expected  a  large  addition  of  vol- 
unteers. We  were  attacked  by  General  Moreno's 
troops,  in  Zacatecas,  and  defeated  them,  with  the  loss 
of  nine  hundred  men  on  their  side,  and  about  seven 
hundred  on  ours ;  which  included  several  engage- 
ments, as  they  hung  upon  our  rear  and  harrassed  us 
till  we  turned  upon  them  and  had  a  half  day's  obsti- 
nate fight.  They  then  retreated  in  the  direction  of  the 
city  of  Mexico,  and  we  pursued  them  till  we  turned 
off  the  route,  to  unite  with  the  army  of  General  Zara- 
gosa,  at  Guadalaxara.  Thus  united,  we  resumed  the 
march  after  a  day's  rest,  and  finally  arrived  with  a 
large  and  imposing  force,  in  sight  of  the  city  of 
Mexico. 


CAPTURE   OF   MEXICO.  275 

The  enemy  were  well  fort  Hied  in  the  city,  and  were 
coniniandedby  Generals  Miramon,  Mejia,  and  Marquez. 
We  open(^d  a  fire  on  the  city  after  making  dne  prepar- 
ation, and  the  firing  was  continued  for  four  days,  and 
terminated  in  a  complete  victory  for  the  liberals,  our 
whole  loss  being  about  one  thousand,  and  that  of  the 
enemy  about  nineteen  hundred.  We  found  in  the 
city  vast  quantities  of  supplies  and  ammunition  ;  and 
we  confiscated  the  vast  property  of  the  church  for  the 
use  of  the  liberal  party,  in  carrying  on  the  war,  &c. 
All  the  priests  and  bishops  we  could  find  we  imprison- 
ed ;  and  many  officers  captured  were  tried,  and  some 
of  them  shot,  while  others  joined  our  party,  some  of 
whom  fought  bravely  on  our  side.  We  remained  in 
the  city  of  Mexico,  having  entire  control,  for  about  six 
months  ;  and  under  the  administration  of  the  liberals, 
every  thing  settled  into  a  state  of  quiet ;  the  laws  were 
respected,  and  there  was  general  good  order.  Gomon- 
fort  was  president  of  the  Republic,  with  his  head- 
quarters in  the  capitol,  and  he  was  growing  in  favor 
with  the  church  party,  and  universally  liked  by  the 
liberals. 


CHAPTER  XYIII. 

ABOUT  this  time  war  was  declared  by  France  against 
Mexico.  Tlie  church  party  sided  with  the  French, 
and  their  officers  commenced  raising  troops  to  join  the 
French  army,  whicli  was  soon  expected  to  land  at  Vera 
Cruz.  In  tliis  way  they  thought  to  avenge  them- 
selves against  the  liberal  party  of  Mexico  for  their 
continual  defeats.  Some  of  them  went  to  Vera  Cruz 
with  their  troops  to  welcome  the  arrival  of  these  for- 
eign legions  and  oifer  their  services. 

The  liberals  had  immediate  orders  from  President 
Comonfort  to  organize  our  troops  and  be  in  readiness 
to  oppose  the  French.  We  marched  out  of  tlie  city  of 
Mexico,  under  General  Zaragosa,  to  meet  the  invaders 
at  Puebla  on  the  road  from  Vera  Cruz  ;  and  while 
w^aiting  for  the  French  to  arrive  we  spent  several  weeks 
in  fortifying  the  city  and  raising  volunteers  in  the 
country  around.  Learning  that  the  French  were  ad- 
vancing on  Puebla,  we  moved  out  about  four  miles 
from  the  city  and  met  the  enemy  in  an  open  field.  Our 
troops  numbered  fourteen  thousand,  and  the  French 
united  with  the  traitors  who  had  joined  them,  mus- 
tered twelve  thousand.  The  engagement  commenced 
about  10  o'clock  in  the  morning  and  lasted  until  3  p.  m. 
General  Zaragosa  formed  a  part  of  his  troops  in  a  hol- 
low square  in  front  of  an  eminence  or  hill,  and  a 
section  of  artillery  was  placed  in  tlie  right  hand  corner 
of  this  square,  of  whicli  I  had  command.  A  little  to 
the  left  of  my  position  was  a  high  point  which  the 


WOUNDED   IN    THE   BREAST.  277 

enemy  endeavored  to  take  by  a  flank  movement.  This 
attempt  was  frustrated  by  some  pretty  sharp  shelling 
and  sundry  discharges  of  grape  and  canister  which 
drove  them  back.  General  Zaragosa  had  placed  in  our 
front  in  a  ravine  or  low  piece  of  ground,  about  liftcen 
hundred  nu'u,  with  orders  to  lay  close  to  the  ground  ; 
and  placed  a  scattering  line  of  men  in  advance,  and. 
when  the  French  made  the  assault  these  men  rose  up 
and  i)oured  in  a  destructive  volley  which  gave  us  an 
opportunity  to  follow  up  with  the  artillery,  killing  a 
great  number  and  causmg  the  remainder  to  fall  back. 
Twice  the  French  advanced  to  gain  this  elevation  where 
our  light  artillery  were  doing  fearful  damage  in  the 
enemy's  ranks,  and  both  times  they  were  repulsed 
with  great  loss.  General  Zaragosa  finally  ordered  the 
artillery  to  cease  firing,  and  tlie  infantr}^,  including  my 
support,  to  charge  in  front,  sending  the  cavalry  around 
to  attack  on  the  flank,  when  the  enemy  broke  in  disor- 
der and  fled  in  the  direction  of  Vera  Cruz.  I  found 
after  I  had  ceased  firing  that  a  number  of  my  artillery- 
men were  killed  or  disabled,  one  of  whom,  a  sergeant, 
was  wounded  badly  in  the  shoulder,  and  in  my  efforts 
to  get  him  up  and  take  him  to  a  place  of  sht^lter,  I  was 
struck  in  the  breast  by  a  musket  ball  from  the  enemy, 
which  broke  the  breast-bone  ;  and  though  the  ball  was 
nearly  spent,  owing  to  tlie  extreme  distance,  I  found 
myself  completely  disabled  for  want  of  breath.  The 
ball  took  out  a  small  piece,  or  patch  from  mj^  uniform, 
and  drove  it  into  'my  breast,  in  front  of  the  ball.  By 
taking  hold  of  the  edges  of  this  patch,  I  drew  out  the 
ball  immediately.  When  our  troops  returned  from  the 
charge,  I  returned  with  my  guns  to  Puebla,  and  the 
next  day  I  went  by  stage  to  Mexico,  where  I  was  under 
surgical  treatment  six  weeks.     Our  loss  in  this  engage- 


278  EETURlSr  TO  MAZATLAlsr. 

ment  was  from  five  to  six  hundred,  while  the  French 
and  traitors  lost  over  a  thousand. 

After  being  confined  to  my  room,  in  the  officers 
quarters  in  Mexico,  some  ten  days,  I  discovered  one 
morning,  on  looking  from  my  window,  that  the  city  was 
in  mourning.  Inquiring  the  cause,  I  learned  that  Gen- 
eral Zaragosa  had  died  in  the  city  of  Puebla,  which 
was  sad  news  to  me,  as  I  considered  him  better  quali- 
fied to  command  a  large  army  than  any  other  Mexican 
general.  General  Jose  Maria  Arteaga  succeeded  to  the 
command  of  the  liberal  troops  throughout  Mexico. 

Puejbla  was  occupied  by  our  forces  and  properly 
fortified.  The  French  received  large  accessions  of 
fresh  troops  and  soon  returned  to  attack  the  city.  After 
a  siege  of  about  six  weeks,  during  which  there  was 
much  hard  fighting,  our  troops  were  starved  out. 
Some  four  thousand  of  them  foiiglit  their  way  out  and 
returned  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  while  the  remainder 
were  forced  to  surrender  conditionally,  and  after  being 
disarmed,  they  were  at  liberty  to  go  to  their  homes. 
Many  of  them,  however,  found  their  way  to  the  cap- 
ital. (This  was  in  1862  or  1863).  My  next  movement 
was  to  request  to  be  transferred  to  my  old  field  of  oper- 
ations at  Mazatlan,  for  my  health  was  poor  and  I  pre- 
ferred the  air  of  the  coast.  My  request  was  granted, 
and  my  friend.  Colonel  Orosca,  and  an  escort  of 
fifty  men  were  allowed  to  accompany  me,  and  we  made 
our  trip  through  the  State  of  Durango,  where  we  were 
in  hopes  to  gather  many  volunteers  to  go  with  us  to 
Mazatlan.  We  were  several  days  recruiting  in  Duran- 
go, and  several  weeks  elapsed  before  we  arrived  at 
Mazatlan.  Meantime,  the  French  had  got  possession 
of  Mazatlan,  coming  around  in  war  vessels.  We  found 
our  forces  there  much  scattered  and  disheartened,  their 


TREACIIEUY   OF   LANBERG.  279 

stock  of  arms  and  ammunition  running  very  low. 
General  Morales  had  left  with  a  part  of  the  troops  and 
gone  to  Sonora,  leaving  General  Corona  in  command. 
By  uniting  our  forces,  including  several  hundred  fresli 
troops  who  came  from  Durango  with  us,  we  made  the 
French  some  trouble,  and  by  intrenching  ourselves  out- 
side the  city,  we  bombarded  them  occasionally,  but 
made  no  direct  assault. 

We  fortunately  got  information  of  a  pack-mule  train, 
soon  to  arrive  from  the  mountains,  loaded  with  silver, 
and  destined  for  shipment  from  Mazatlan,  It  was  an 
easy  task  for  us  to  overpower  the  escort  and  cai)ture 
the  silver  bars,  which  were  wortli  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  Governor  Pesquiera  ordered  the  money  to 
be  laid  out  for  arms  and  suj)plies  for  our  troops.  A 
coasting  vessel  was  procured,  and  General  Lanberg  was 
commissioned  to  take  the  money  to  San  Francisco  and 
purchase  arms,  ammunition,  &c.,  for  our  use.  After 
waiting  patiently  several  weeks,  we  found  that  he  had 
returned  with  the  arms,  &c.,  and  being  a  friend  of  Max- 
imilian, and  one  of  his  countrymen,  had  turned  traitor 
to  us  and  handed  over  the  arms  and  government  stores 
to  the  French.  Our  situation  was  getting  desperate  ; 
but  we  concluded  to  continue  the  siege  of  Mazatlan, 
with  some  hope  of  retaking  the  cit}^,  if  we  could  cut 
off  their  supplies,  which  they  received  by  water.  "We 
were  already  capturing  all  the  cattle  which  their  agents 
picked  up  back  in  the  country,  and  we  usually  .shot 
those  of  the  French  who  Avere  bold  enough  to  try  to 
run  through  our  lines  to  bring  in  such  stock. 
On(^  party  of  one  hundred  and  eight}'  French  were 
captured  by  us  one  day,  and,  as  we  had  no  use  for 
prisoners,  we  shot  nearly  all  of  them.  Among  those 
that  we  spared  was   a  Captain   Louis   Ronsey,   who 


280  EXCIIA^^GE   OF   PRISONERS. 

plead  for  liis  life,  saying  lie  was  as  good  a  liberal  as 
any  of  us,  but  was  forced  into  the  imperial  service  by 
Ms  connections.  He  gave  liis  sword  to  General  Corona, 
wlio  took  liim  at  liis  word,  remarking  lie  was  the  first 
Frenclimau  he  ever  dared  to  trust.  In  this  case  the 
clemency  extended  to  him  was  well  rewarded ;  for  he 
fouglit  on  our  side  from  that  day  till  the  conclusion  of 
the  war,  and  was  a  brave  and  trustworthy  officer. 

Learning  that  the  French  were  albout  to  land  some 
troops  at  Altata,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Culiacan  river,  I 
was  detailed  to  go  with  a  force  of  five  hundred  men, 
under  General  Rosales,  to  that  point.  About  one 
thousand  French  were  landed  from  a  man  of  war,  and 
they  had  no  idea  of  thl^re  being  any  liberals  in  the 
vicinity.  They  marched  at  once  for  Culiacan ;  and 
when  at  a  small  village  within  about  nine  miles,  they 
were  attacked  by  the  liberals,  who  lay  in  ambush  for 
them.  Our  cavalry  were  secreted  to  attack  them  in  the 
rear,  when  the  fire  from  two  small  field-pieces  under  my 
charge  should  open  in  front.  I  had  the  guns  posted  so 
as  to  give  a  raking  fire,  as  the  French  entered  the  vil- 
lage, and  our  men  were  scattered  along  on  both  sides  of 
the  roadway  for  some  distance.  They  were  totally  sur- 
prised and  routed,  losing  al^out  eighty  men  killed  and 
half  their  force  was  captured ;  the  remnant  escaping 
back  to  Altata  to  their  war  vessel.  As  the  French  held 
many  of  our  men  prisonc^rs  at  Mazatlan,  we  made  an 
exchange  with  them,  and  thus  I  saw  again  some  of  my 
old  friends  who  were  taken  at  the  capture  of  JMazatlan. 

From  an  American  that  we  captured  among  the 
prisoners,  in  the  last  engagement,  we  learned  tliat  the 
French,  at  Mazatlan,  had  sent  an  order  by  the  steamer 
John  L.  Stevens,  to  San  Francisco,  for  rifles,  cavalry, 
saddles,  clothing,  provisions,  and  forage.    We  knew 


CAPTUIIE   OF   SUPPLIES.  281 

of  a  fino  coasting  schooner  in  tlie  river,  near  Altata, 
and  finding  that  tlie  French  vessel  had  h'l't  that  port 
with  their  troops,  we  planned  an  expedition  to  meet  the 
John  L.  Stevens  on  her  return  trip,  and  seize  the  goods, 
for  she  had  no  armament,  being  a  passenger  steamer. 
Our  plan  suited  General  Corona,  who  dispatched  my 
friend  Colonel  Norton  and  myself  with  a  six  pounder 
and  a  suitable  force  of  well  armed  men,  on  the  mission, 
with  strict  orders  to  respect  the  rights  of  the  passengers, 
if  we  came  across  the  steamer.  We  took  the  schooner 
without  difficulty  and  made  across  the  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia to  the  port  of  La  Paz,  where  the  steamer  was  to 
make  a  landing.  After  cruising  about  several  days, 
we  espied  the  steamer  about  fifteen  miles  from  La  Paz. 
We  had  divulged  our  plan  to  the  liberals  of  tliat  port, 
who  promised  to  aid  us.  When  the  steamer  made  the 
landing,  we  ran  alongside,  and,  boarding  her,  com- 
manded the  captain  to  deliver  to  us  all  that  he  had  on 
board  which  belonged  to  the  French. 

Great  excitement  prevailed  on  board  among  the  pas- 
sengers, as  they  feared  that  we  were  outlaws  and  rob- 
bers ;  but  when  we  assured  them  that  we  only  wanted 
the  property  of  the  French  troops,  that  we  knew  was 
aboard,  they  became  quiet.  The  captain  immediately 
turned  all  the  property  over  to  us,  which  consisted  of 
eight  hundred  rifies,  many  boxes  of  ammunition,  two 
hundred  cavalry  saddles,  baled  hay,  hard  bread,  salt 
pork,  and  other  provisions,  which  wer(^  transferred  to 
our  schooner  forthwith,  and  she  was  dispatched  back 
across  the  gulf  to  Altata,  where  we  had  a  force  in  wait- 
ing to  receive  the  cargo.  I  procured  a  guard  of  liberals 
from  La  Paz,  and  remained  on  board  with  one  of  my  men 
and  a]>out  twenty  of  this  guard  to  detain  the  steamer, 
so  as  to  give  time  for  our  schooner  to  land  at  Altata 


282  PEEILS   OF   LAND    AND    WATER. 

before  slie  could  possiljlj  reach  Guaymas,  and  enable 
the  French  to  recapture  the  property,  by  sending  a 
war  vessel  in  pursuit.  After  staying  on  board  twelve 
hours,  and  cautioning  this  friendly  guard  to  detain  the 
steamer  twenty-four  hours  longer,  I  left  in  a  small  pilot 
boat,  whicli  our  friends  at  La  Paz  furnished  us,  with 
my  soldier  friend  for  Altata.  Tlie  gulf  was  smooth 
when  we  started,  and  we  thought  it  safe  enough  to  at- 
tempt the  passage,  as  my  friend  was  somewhat  skilled 
in  managing  a  boat.  The  night  following  a  strong  gale 
set  in,  and  the  storm  increasing,  we  gave  up  all  hopes 
of  reaching  the  land,  for  our  boat  filled  with  water  as 
fast  as  we  could  bail  it  out  with  our  hats.  We  let  her 
go  scudding  along  before  the  wind  at  a  tremendous  rate, 
for  we  were  completely  at  the  mercy  of  the  elements. 
The  gale  was  from  the  south,  and  we  were  blown  ashore, 
after  being  out  about  forty-eight  hours,  at  Guaymas,  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  up  the  coast  of  Sonora,  above 
Altata,  where  we  wanted  to  land.  This  truly  was  a 
sorry  plight  to  be  in  ;  for  the  French  held  possession 
of  Guaymas  and  the  steamer  would  soon  be  here,  after 
our  friendly  guard  of  liberals  at  La  Paz  released  her. 
On  arriving  in  the  harbor,  our  boat  was  taken  from 
us,  and  we  were  arrested  and  taken  before  the  French 
commander,  General  Gardinelle,  who  asked  us  where 
we  "were  from.  I  replied,  "from  Lower  California," 
which  was  the  truth.  The  captain  of  the  port  was  a 
traitor,  and  was  formerly  acquainted  with  me,  as  we 
served  together  in  the  liberty  cause  against  the  church, 
but  did  not  know  that  I  was  in  the  service  of  the  lib- 
erty party  now  against  the  French ;  and  proving 
nothing  against  us,  we  were  discharged  on  condition 
that  we  did  not  leave  town.  The  French  guards  encir- 
cled the  place,  and  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  escape ; 


nUXNING   THE   GUAUD.  283 

but  I  knew  the  steamer  would  be  likely  to  arrive  the 
next  day,  when  the  story  of  our  robbery  of  UuAv  vessel 
would  cause  a  tumult,  and  we  should  be  hung  forth- 
with, or  shot  as  pirates.  I  informed  my  comrade  that 
we  must  escape  that  night  or  run  a  fearful  risk ;  and  he 
replied  that  he  should  remain,  because  the  danger  of 
running  the  guards  was  the  greatest.  I  bade  him  adieu, 
and  told  him  to  secrete  himself,  for  I  should  make  the 
attempt.  Lucky  enough  for  me  that  we  parted,  for  we 
never  could  have  got  away  together. 

Tlie  next  morning,  about  daybreak,  I  was  walking  in 
the  outskirts  of  the  city,  when  I  found  a  ]SIexican 
shepherd  boy  engaged  in  milking  a  number  of  goats. 
I  stepped  into  the  pen  and  proposed  to  assist  him  in 
driving  his  goats  out  of  the  city ;  also  offered  him  a 
a  dollar  to  exchange  his  cap  for  my  hat,  and  trade 
blankets  with  me,  which  he  accepted.  After  we  had 
made  the  change,  and  he  had  put  up  his  milk,  we 
started  the  goats  for  the  pastures  on  the  high  hills  be- 
yond the  guards,  back  of  the  city,  and  passed  the 
guard  without  being  questioned.  When  we  reached 
the  top  of  the  hill,  I  looked  back  towards  the  sea,  and 
in  the  distance  noticed  the  smoke  of  the  steamer  ap- 
proaching ;  and  I  thanked  fortune  for  my  escape,  and 
thanked  my  Creator,  too,  for  a  sufficient  stock  of  wits 
to  get  me  out  of  a  bad  scrape.  I  changed  the  cap  back 
for  my  hat,  telling  the  boy  it  was  a  tight  fit.  Then  I 
started  in  a  northerl}-  direction  down  the  hills,  travel- 
ing towards  Ilermosillo,  some  seventy-five  miles  to  the 
north,  where  I  knew  we  had  a  force  of  liberals.  After 
proceeding  a  few  miles  I  came  to  a  Mexican  ranche, 
where  I  obtained  some  provisions  and  continu(xl  my 
tramp  for  three  and  a  half  days,  till  I  arrived  near 
Puebla  de  Ceres,  almost  exhausted,  having  crossed  a 
19 


284  PRIMITIVE    NAVIGATION. 

country  of  barren  plains  and  liills  with  only  an  occa- 
sional settlement.  I  was  still  separated  from  Hermo- 
sillo  by  a  river,  wliicli  is  almost  dry  in  a  dry  season, 
but  now  it  was  so  swollen  with  rains  that  I  could  not 
ford  it,  and  there  were  no  boats  that  I  knew  of.  The 
people  of  Puebla  de  Ceres  were  unfriendly  to  our  cause, 
and  I  dared  not  show  myself  for  fear  of  arrest ;  so  I 
remained  near  the  river  waiting  for  it  to  fall. 

At  the  expkation  of  two  days,  the  river  still  con- 
tinued high,  when  I  was  informed  by  a  passing  Mexican 
mail-carrier  that  General  Gardinelle,  with  his  French 
troops,  was  on  the  march  from  Guaymas  to  Hermosillo 
and  would  arrive,  probably,  the  next  day.  Here  I  was 
in  another  hard  place  ;  the  river  with  its  swift,  muddy 
waters  in  front,  and  the  same  enemy  in  my  rear  that 
came  near  hanging  me  at  Guaymas.  I  walked  up  and 
down  the  banks  till  I  found  a  log  which  I  thought 
might  carry  me  safely  over.  This  was  my  only  chance, 
for  there  was  no  friend  within  hailing  distance  on  the 
opposite  shore.  The  river  was  about  a  half  a  mile 
wide,  in  its  swollen  state,  covering  over  a  wide  extent 
of  bush  and  chaparral  on  the  other  shore.  I  divested 
myself  of  clothing,  and  put  some  papers,  &c.,  in  a 
large  bandanna  handkerchief,  which  I  tied  around  my 
waist ;  then  making  a  bundle  of  my  clothing,  in  which 
I  enclosed  about  twenty -five  dollars,  I  fastened  it  to  my 
head  and  mounted  the  log,  which  was  about  eight  feet 
in  length  and  a  foot  thick,  determined  to  paddle  myself 
across  to  the  other  shore  if  possible.  When  about 
midway  in  the  river,  the  swift  current  caused  my  log 
to  roll  over  with  me,  and  my  bundle  of  clothing  got 
loo.ie  from  my  head  and  floated  down  stream.  Holding 
to  my  log  as  best  I  could,  I  succeeded  in  reaching  a 
bunch  of  willows,  growing  in  the  stream.     Here  I  rested 


UNPLEASANTLY    SITUATED.  285 

a  while,  and  tlien  made  another  attempt,  and  readied 
shallow  water  and  bushes  on  the  opposite  bank,  when 
I  easily  reached  the  high  ground.  Here  I  sat  down 
and  contemplated  my  situation,  wliich  was  rather  a 
gloomy  one.  My  clothes  and  money  were  gone,  and  I 
knew  not  what  to  do.  I  had  an  acquaintance  living  in 
Hermosillo,  a  Mr.  Douglass,  employed  in  the  mint,  and 
another  friend,  a  Mr.  Hale,  an  American,  who  was  a 
wagon-maker.  After  a  while  a  Mexican  boy  passed 
near  by.  I  hailed  him  and  inquired  if  he  knew  these 
gentlemen.  He  informed  me  that  he  did,  and  I  prom- 
ised to  reward  him  if  he  would  bring  either  of  them  to 
me.  He  returned  in  a  short  time,  bringing  both  of  my 
friends,  who  were  surprised  to  find  me  in  such  a  situa- 
tion, and  asked  how  I  came  in  such  a  fix.  I  gave  them 
a  brief  history  of  my  misfortunes,  when  Mr.  Douglass 
left  me,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  returned  with  a 
new  suit  of  clothes.  We  then  in  company  proceeded 
to  the  hotel,  where  I  obtained  refreshments,  and  was 
soon  entirely  recovered  from  the  effects  of  my  trip.  I 
was  also  furnished  with  an  ounce  of  gold  by  Mr. 
Douglass.  Here  I  was  informed  that  there  were  about 
four  hundred  liberal  troops  in  Hermosillo,  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  Corea.  I  went  to  the  colonel  and 
informed  him  of  my  adventures,  and  of  the  expected 
arrival  of  the  French  troops.  He  told  me  the  governor 
had  about  eight  hundred  troops  in  the  capital  at  Ures, 
and  that  he  was  going  to  march  his  troops  at  once  to 
the  aid  of  the  governor.  After  offering  my  services,  I 
was  placed  by  him  in  charge  of  two  twelve  pounder  how- 
itzers, and  we  started  for  tlu^  capital.  At  this  crisis  the 
French  forces  came  in  sight  on  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  river,  but  could  not  cross  on  account  of  the  high 
stage  of  the  water.     On  our  way  to  the  capital  we  had 


286  TAKEX    PRISONER. 

an  attack  from  some  seven  hundred  traitors  and  half- 
breeds,  under  the  lead  of  a  famous  Indian  chief,  by 
the  name  of  Tannery,  who  had  raised  this  force  in  favor 
of  the  French.  This  occurred  the  night  before  reach- 
ing Ures,  about  1  o'clock  in  the  morning,  at  a  Mexican 
ranche  called  Palma  de  le  Noria. 

I  had  advised  our  colonel  to  lay  over  here  and  await 
the  approach  of  some  cavalry,  which  we  expected  the 
governor  to  send  us,  as  it  was  dangerous  to  proceed 
into  the  city  with  our  weak  numbers,  in  view  of  the 
large  number  of  the  enemy  who  were  hovering  about 
the  capital,  waiting  to  cut  off  reinforcements.     The 
colonel,  however,  refused  my  advice  and  passed  the 
ranche  some  four  hundred  yards,  when,  from  among 
the  trees  and  brush  by  the  road,  these  Indians  and 
Mexicans  gave  us  a  volley  from  their  guns  and  rushed 
upon  us.     The  colonel  and  most  of  the  men  were  so 
surprised  that  they  broke  for  the  woods.     I  had  com- 
menced firing  with  my  homtzers  when  I  was  surround- 
ed and  ordered  to  surrender,  and  was  taken  prisoner 
with  about  a  hundred  others.     The  remainder  of  our 
men  escaped.     The  prisoners  were  then  marched  to  the 
capital,  where,  upon  arrival,  we  learned  that  the  gov- 
ernor and  his  troops  had  been  driven  from  that  city. 
Here  we  were  thrown  into  the  city  prison,  called  the 
"Correccion,"   where  I   remained  about  two  weeks, 
when  we  were  informed  that  the  French  troops,  under 
Gardinelle,  had  left  Hermosillo,  and  were  on  their  way 
to  Ures,  the  capital.     Again  I  considered  my  life  in 
danger  from  these  murderous  frog-eating  French  in- 
vaders, who  were  scouring  the  country  to  reduce  it  to 
subjection.     Once  I  had  escaped  them  by  running  their 
guards  at  Guaymas,  and  again  by  swimming  the  river 
on  a  log  at  Hermosillo  ;  and  now  I  was  shut  up  in  a 


irjEXDLY   GUARD.  287 

prison  where  they  were  sure  to  find  me  on  their  arrival, 
and  my  life  would  not  be  worth  a  "real."  To  add  to 
my  alarm,  a  friendly  sergeant  who  had  charge  of  the 
prison  guard,  told  me  that  the  French  were  expected 
the  next  day. 

I  had  a  friend  in  Ures,  a  Doctor  Wallace,  and  I  suc- 
ceeded in  sending  him  a  note  requesting  him  to  send  me 
thirty -five  dollars,  which  he  immediately  did  ;  and  that 
night  I  had  a  splendid  supper,  with  wines  and  liquors 
sent  to  me  by  Doctor  Wallace,  and  I  invited  the  ser- 
geant and  corporal  of  the  guard  to  sup  with  me,  and 
they  accepted  my  invitation.  I  then  had  a  secret  con- 
versation with  the  sergeant  and  described  to  him  my 
delicate  and  dangerous  situation,  telling  him  that  if 
the  French  commander  found  me  here  the  next  day,  I 
should  be  shot ;  and  if  he  would  assist  me  in  escaping 
I  would  give  him  all  the  money  I  had.  He  then  told 
me  that  the  officer  of  the  guard  had  been  drinking,  and 
that  he  should  till  that  position  after  12 o'clock,  and  he 
would  then  assist  me  to  escape.  At  about  1  o'clock  the 
officer  was  asleep.  The  sergeant  then  being  in  charge, 
he  furnished  me  with  a  rifle  and  twenty-four  cartridges. 
Giving  his  orders  to  change  the  guard,  he  told  me  in 
what  direction  to  travel.  Dressing  me  as  a  soldier,  he 
took  me  outside  with  the  relief  guard,  as  if  to  station 
me  on  a  post.  When  a  favorable  moment  arrived,  he 
silently  bade  me  adieu,  and  I  started  in  the  darkness, 
after  placing  my  purse  in  his  hand,  which  he  received 
with  "mucho  gracias,"  or  many  thanks.  I  started 
northward  towards  Arizona  whither  Governor  Pesquiera 
and  his  troops  had  been  driven,  doing  some  very  tall 
traveling,  as  the  danger  of  my  being  retaken  was  up- 
permost in  my  mind. 

On  the  sixth  day  after  leaving,  I  laid  down  to  sleep 


288  KEBUKE  TO   A   COWAED. 

at  some  old  ruins  not  many  miles  distant  from  Santa 
Cruz.  After  starting  again  I  liad  not  proceeded  far, 
when,  in  passing  through  some  tall  weeds  and  grass,  I 
overheard  some  conversation  which  I  found  proceeded 
from  seven  Apache  Indians.  I  hid  myself  in  the  grass 
and  they  soon  passed  by  at  no  great  distance  without 
noticing  me.  That  afternoon  I  reached  a  small  settle- 
ment, called  Santa  Cruz,  my  shoes  completely  worn 
out,  and  my  feet  blistered,  and  I  was  about  half-fam- 
ished for  want  of  suitable  food.  I  remained  here  one 
day  and  night,  and,  procuring  a  buckskin,  I  made  my- 
self a  coarse  pair  of  moccasins. 

From  the  Mexicans  here  I  learned  that  the  governor 
had  crossed  over  into  Arizona.  I  then  hired  a  man  and 
a  donkey  to  take  me  to  the  governor,  who  was  camped 
in  the  woods  in  Arizona.  The  journey  occupied  near- 
ly three  days.  I  rode  the  donkey,  and  the  man  drove 
it,  following  behind  on  foot,  occasionally  spurring 
him  up  with  a  sharp  stick,  for  lie  was  the  slowest  beast 
I  ever  rode,  and  was  so  small  that  my  feet  nearly 
touched  the  ground. 

When  I  arrived  at  the  governor's  quarters,  I  must 
have  presented  a  ridiculous  appearance  ;  but  announc- 
ing myself  in  a  loud  tone,  the  governor  came  out  of  his 
tent,  with  other  friends  and  officers,  giving  me  a  warm 
welcome.  Colonel  Corea,  who  had  deserted  me  at  the 
ranche  below  Ures,  when  the  Indian  Tannery  attacked 
and  gobbled  up  those  who  were  brave  enough  to  stand 
their  ground,  came  around  to  see  me.  He  and  his  men 
liad  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  governor  and  were  here 
encamped.  I  refused  to  shake  hands  with  him,  accus- 
ing him  of  cowardice  and  laying  the  whole  blame  of 
the  disaster  on  him.  He  retired  from  my  presence  and 
always  shunned  me  after  that.     When  I  narrated  my 


INTERVIEW   WITH   COLONEL   LEWIS.  289 

hardships  and  liair-breadtli  escapes  to  the  governor,  lie 
was  surpris(;d,  and  pronounced  my  trip  a  hard  one 
and  my  escapes  as  miraculous. 

I  stayed  with  the  governor  four  days,  during  which 
we  had  frequent  interviews,  and  I  advised  him  to  seek 
the  protection  of  the  United  States'  troops  at  the  Fort 
of  Calibasa,  which  was  about  three  days'  march  from 
his  camp.  Governor  Pesquiera  said  that  all  he  wanted 
was  arms  and  ammunition  to  enable  him  to  raise  addi- 
tional volunteers  and  return  to  the  capital  at  Ures.  I 
told  him  that  Colonel  Lewis,  commanding  at  Fort  Cali- 
basa, would  probably  assist  him  with  the  necessary 
supplies  ;  for  we  all  knew  that  United  States  troops  all 
sympathized  with  the  cause  of  the  liberals.  In  ac- 
cordance with  my  further  advice,  he  immediately 
moved  his  camp  towards  Calibasa,  taking  his  family, 
his  officers,  and  all  the  troops ;  and  we  halted  within 
ten  miles  of  the  fort  to  confer  with  Colonel  Lewis  be- 
fore advancing  further.  We  camped  here  that  night, 
and  the  next  day  the  governor  sent  me  with  an  armed 
escort  to  the  fort,  to  see  Colonel  Lewis  and  obtain  as- 
sistance, or,  at  least,  get  his  protection,  and  permission 
to  establish  a  recruiting  rendezvous  at  this  point. 

I  proceeded  to  the  fort  and  delivered  my  message  to 
Colonel  Lewis,  and  we  discussed  matters  at  some  length. 
I  detailed  to  the  colonel  as  well  as  I  was  able,  how  ut- 
terly impossible  it  would  be  for  the  French  to  establish 
a  monarchy  that  would  stand  permanently  against  the 
will  of  the  common  classes — that  Mexico  aimed  to  be  a 
republic,  after  the  example  of  the  United  States,  and  in 
such  an  emergency  as  this,  when  tlie  eyes  of  tho  world 
were  viewing  this  contest,  and  Regarding  it  as  a  linal 
settlement  of  the  question  whether  republicanism  could 
succeed  in  a  half-civilized  country,  we  really  needed 


290  DEATH    OF    PESQUIERA's    WIFE. 

the  sympathy,  and,  if  possible,  the  aid  of  our  powerful 
sister  republic.  I  also  pictured  to  Colonel  Lewis  how 
the  great  statesmen  of  the  United  States  had  generally 
acquiesced  in  the  Monroe  doctrine  of  no  crowned  h(^ads 
on  this  continent,  and  no  interference  from  the  crowned 
heads  of  Europe.  After  considerable  discussion,  Col- 
onel Lewis  informed  me  that  his  first  duty  was  allegi- 
ance to  the  United  States  Government ;  but  that  what  I 
had  said  fully  agreed  with  his  sentiments  in  regard  to 
Mexico,  and  if  we  wanted  any  assistance  we  could  have 
it.  Colonel  Lewis  told  me  to  say  to  Governor  Pesqui- 
era  that  he  would  come  out  with  his  staff  the  next  day, 
meet  us  on  the  road,  accompany  us  into  the  fort,  and  do 
all  in  his  power  to  make  us  comfortable. 

I  then  returned  and  informed  the  governor  that 
Colonel  Lewis  requested  that  he  should  proceed  to  the 
fort  and  he  would  receive  him  with  pleasure.  The  fol- 
lowing day  we  advanced  towards  the  fort,  and  when 
some  five  miles  distant  we  met  Colonel  Lewis  with  his 
staff,  several  of  his  officers,  and  a  band  of  music,  when 
I  introduced  him  to  the  governor  and  his  family.  We 
continued  on  to  the  fort,  where  we  found  the  troops 
formed  in  line  to  welcome  us,  and  we  met  with  a  cor- 
dial reception.  Arrangements  were  made  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  governor  and  his  family,  his 
officers  and  men. 

We  remained  here  some  two  months  ;  meantime,  the 
governor  and  family  went  to  Fort  Tubac,  some  twenty 
miles  distant  on  the  river.  The  governor  and  wife  were 
both  taken  sick  and  she  died  in  four  days.  Her  death 
was  lamented  by  all  the  troops,  who  regarded  lii^r  as  a 
sort  of  mother,  from  her  universal  kindness  and  genial 
nature.  Her  body  was  embalmed  and  placed  in  a 
sepmchre  in  the  cathedral  at  Tamacacari.     The  gov- 


COMPULSORY    CONTRIBUTION.  291 

ernor  was  w(^ll  cared  for  and  linally  recovered.  Soon 
after,  at  the  request  of  Governor  Pesquiera,  I  took  com- 
mand of  five  hundred  troops,  with  orders  to  proceed  to 
Sonora  and  attack  a  force  of  Imperialists  and  Mexicans 
that  wer(^  tlie  terror  and  scourge  of  the  people  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  state  ;  they  had  their  head-quar- 
ters at  a  town  called  Magdalena,  and  were  about  four 
hundred  in  nunil)er.  I  encamped  my  troops  at  Santa 
Cruz  and  went  alone  to  Magdalena  in  the  disguise  of  a 
trader  or  merchant,  to  learn  the  condition  and  situation 
of  the  enemy,  where  I  stayed  twelve  hours,  and  then 
returned  to  my  camp  without  being  detected.  We  tlien 
made  preparations  to  attack  the  town,  and  surround- 
ing it  the  next  night,  we  commenced  the  attack  about 
daybreak,  which  resulted  in  the  capture  of  all  their 
arms  and  ammunition,  killing  about  iifty  and  taking 
about  sixty  prisoners.  Our  loss  was  three  men  killed 
and  five  wounded.  We  also  captured  one  hundred 
and  fifty  cavalry  horses. 

I  then  commenced  getting  new  recruits  and  arming 
new  men.  I  was  informed  that  the  priest  of  Magdalena 
was  furnishing  means  to  sustain  the  enemy's  troops.  I 
ordered  this  priest  before  me,  and  from  citizens  of  the 
place  it  was  proven  that  he  had  done  so.  I  then  or- 
dered him  to  furnish  me  with  ten  thousand  dollars  for 
the  benefit  of  the  liberal  cause  in  his  district,  or  be 
starved  in  prison.  After  two  days'  confinement  he  con- 
cluded to  pay  the  amount,  when  I  released  him. 

Learning  that  the  Indian  fighter,  Tannery,  was  rais- 
ing troops  to  attack  me,  I  organized  my  men  as  quickly 
as  possible,having  now  about  seven  liundred,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  meet  Tannery.  We  had  a  skirmish  at  a  place 
called  Carnaro,  in  a  very  thick  piece  of  brush,  where  we 
fought  some  two  hours  with  about  equal  numbers  on 


292       GENEEAL  LANBERG  HEARD  FROM. 

eacli  side,  when  each  party  became  frightened  and  re- 
treated, with  small  loss  to  either  side.     Our  panic  was 
caused  by  having  so  many  raw  troops,  which  demor- 
alized the  whole,  and  they  scattered  over  the  country 
so  badly  that  I  was  not  afterwards  able  to  collect  over 
four  hundred  of  them,  all  told,  which  caused  me  a 
great  loss  in  horses,  arms,  and  ammunition.     I  return- 
ed with  my  four  hundred  troops  to  Fort  Calibasa,  in 
Arizona,   and    reported    to  Governor    Pesquiera.      I 
found  him  still  in  feeble  health,  and  he  expressed  him- 
self satisfied  with  my  report.     In  a  day  or  two  after,  a 
mail  carrier  brought  a  dispatch  stating  that  the  French 
had  returned  to  Guaymas,  which  was  their  base  of 
supplies  for  the  state  of  Sonora  ;  also,  that  John  Coly, 
my  comrade  who  refused  to  escape  from  Guaymas  with 
me,  was  finally  caught  and  shot.     Colonel  Lewis,  of 
the  fort,  now  informed   Governor  Pesquiera  that  he 
had  received  a  quantity  of  arms  and  ammunition  from 
the  United  States  government,  and  being  overstocked, 
we  could  have  all  we  wanted,  by  making  proper  pay- 
ment, &c.     We  also  had  news  that  General  Lanberg, 
who  had  deserted   our  cause  when  we  sent  him  for 
arms  to  San  Francisco,  had  been  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  imperial  forces  in  Sonora.     Lanberg  was 
an  Austrian,  and  a  particular  friend  of  Maximilian, 
who  had  arrived  now  in  Mexico  and  proclaimed  him- 
self emperor.     The  war  had  been  conducted  more  than 
a  year  before  Maximilian  usurped  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment,  and  this  traitor  was   thus    rewarded    for  his 
treachery  to  us.     We  never  called  him  a  great  general, 
but  he  was  often  termed  the  Austrian  butcher,  for  he 
was  inhuman  to  prisoners. 

Soon  after  this,  the  Apache  Lidians  made  a  raid 
upon  us  at  the  fort,  taking  all  our  horses,  except  ten. 


MATTERS   OF   ENCOURAGEMENT.  293 

We  then  piirsuod  tlie  Indians  several  days  and  n^cap- 
tured  most  of  our  horses.  When  we  returned  we 
found  that  Colonel  Lewis  had  turned  over  to  Governor 
Pesquiera  two  thousand  riHes  and  ammunition  for  the 
liberals.  Dispatches  were  at  once  sent  all  over  Sonora, 
to  our  recruiting  agents,  promising  them  that  Governor 
Pesquiera  would  return  to  the  capital  at  once  if  the 
proper  forces  of  volunteers  could  be  raised  ;  and  at  the 
fort  we  had  encouraging  dispatches  daily  in  reply,  for 
the  people  were  aroused  ;  and  before  long  we  mustered 
three  thousand  troops,  when  we  started  on  the  march 
for  Sonora,  the  governor  taking  command. 

Before  we  reached  Hermosillo,  we  got  information 
that  reinforcements,  composed  of  two  thousand  in- 
fantry and  a  regiment  of  cavalry,  w^re  on  the  way 
from  lower  Mexico  to  assist  our  cause.  At  Hermosillo 
we  met  these  troops,  w^ho  were  commanded  by  General 
Alcontra, — the  cavalry  by  General  Martin(^z,  who  was 
a  perfect  terror  to  the  French,  and  his  regiment  was 
called  the  cavalry  of  the  Macheteros,  from  the  fact  that 
they  all  carried  short  swords,  or  machetes,  which  they 
wielded  with  terrible  effect ;  and  their  leader,  ]Sf  artinez, 
was  a  brigand,  or  desperado,  everywhere  noted  for  his 
rough  style  of  fighting.  His  men  were  chiefly  outlaws, 
gathered  from  various  prisons,  and  cared  not  for  which 
party  they  fought  so  much  as  for  the  mone}^  they  got. 
Their  motto  while  fighting  for  us  was  war  to  the  death 
and  no  quarter  given  or  asked. 

Reinforced  ^vith  these  troops,  our  army  was  indeed 
fonnidable,  and  ready  for  an  action  if  the  enemy  ap- 
peared. About  the  4th  of  May,  1865,  being  encamp(^d 
two  miles  from  Hermosillo,  we  were  attacked  by  the 
traitor.  General  Lanberg  and  his  troops,  aided  by  a 
considerable  party  of  Indians  and  Mexicans  under 


294  A   KICII    PRISONER. 

Tannery,  the  Indian  chief.  The  battle  commenced 
about  three  o'clock,  P.  M.,  and  was  finished  after  dark, 
both  parties  claiming  the  victory  ;  but  we  held  the  po- 
sition, while  Lanberg  retreated  to  Ures,  the  capital, 
with  all  his  forces.  The  loss  was  about  three  hundred 
on  each  side,  in  killed  and  wounded.  Among  the 
prisoners  we  took  was  a  rich  Mexican,  named  Don 
Juan  Enigo,  who  had  done  much  to  help  the  traitors ; 
and  as  we  were  in  want  of  money,  Governor  Pesquiera 
informed  Enigo  that  he  could  have  his  liberty  by  pay- 
ing over  the  sum  of  twenty -five  thousand  dollars  with- 
in fifteen  days,  and  if  the  money  was  not  forthcoming 
in  that  time  he  would  be  shot.  Meantime  we  marched 
from  Hermosillo  to  Rione,  where  we  established  our- 
selves to  recruit,  in  preparation  for  a  great  battle  which 
we  anticipated  would  soon  come  off  at  the  capital. 
Juan  Enigo,  in  reply  to  the  demand  of  tlie  governor, 
said  he  could  raise  a  part  of  the  money,  and  pay  the 
balance  in  mules  ;  and  if  an  officer  would  accompany 
him  to  his  ranche,  back  almost  to  Hermosillo,  with  a 
proper  guard,  the  mules  and  money  should  be  forth- 
coming. Governor  Pesquiera  accepted  the  proposal, 
and  detailed  me  mtli  an  escort  of  twelve  men,  to  go  on 
this  mission.  I  told  the  governor  I  thought  the  trip 
dangerous  with  so  few  men,  but  thinking  I  could  raise 
addititional  men  to  assist  us  on  the  return,  we.  started 
off.  On  arriving  at  the  ranche  of  Enigo,  he  took  us 
into  his  store  and  paid  over  the  sum  of  eight  thousand 
dollars  in  gold,  and  proceeding  to  his  farm  he  allowed 
us  to  select  two  hundred  mules,  with  which  we  started 
at  once  for  our  camp.  On  our  return,  at  about  eight 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  we  were  surpi'ised  to  see  camp 
fires  at  a  short  distance  from  our  j)ath,  which  was  through 
a  ravine,  and  I  sent  a  sergeant  to  ascertain  who  they  were 


BENEFITS   OF   STRATEGY.  295 

— ^whether  friends  or  foes.  He  returned  with  a  report 
that  they  were  a  scouting  party  of  Indians,  under  Tan- 
nery. Tliey  were  aroused  by  the  noise  of  our  mules, 
and  came  forward  cautiously  to  ascertain  our  strength, 
and  attack  us  if  expedi<'nt.  I  decided  to  retreat  to  Iler- 
mosillo,  if  I  could  do  no  better.  Having  several  mules 
heavily  Itided  with  packs,  I  consigned  their  loads  to  a 
deep  hollow  near  the  road,  headed  the  mules  for  Ilermo- 
sillo,  divided  my  party  into  two  squads,  giving  orders 
that  one  should  drive  the  mules  with  all  haste  to  Her- 
mosillo,  while  the  other  would  stay  back  and  detain 
the  Indians.  As  the  road  was  narrow,  running  through 
cane  brake  and  chaparral,  we  could  in  this  way  keep 
the  Indians  at  bay,  and  save  the  mules.  As  the  Indi- 
ans came  up,  I  shot  the  horse  of  the  leader  and  killed 
him,  and  then  commenced  giving  orders  as  though  I 
had  a  large  force  of  men.  The  noise  made  by  the  re- 
treating mules  helped  on  the  deception,  and  the  Indi- 
ans evidently  thinking  there  was  a  large  force  just  out 
of  their  sight,  beat  a  hasty  retreat ;  and  we  were  only 
too  glad  to  retire  in  the  opposite  direction.  About 
daybreak  I  was  rejoiced  to  discover  a  small  party  of 
mounted  men  in  the  distance,  who  proved  to  be  caval- 
rymen in  the  liberal  cause.  On  meeting  them,  we 
stopped  a  short  time  for  breakfast,  and  to  discuss  the 
news ;  and  learned  from  them  that  they  were  on  their 
way  to  the  capital,  to  join  Pesquiera,  and  that  a  battle 
was  momentarily  expected  there.  AVe  decided  to  keep 
company  with  them,  and  join  our  force  there.  After 
traveling  that  day  in  comjianj'',  not  without  some  fear 
of  the  enemy,  for  our  party  only  numbered  twenty-six 
men,  we  slept  that  night  in  the  mountains,  and  arrived 
the  next  noon  in  sight  of  our  forces,  who  were  al^out 
two  miles  from  Ures,  and  were  engaged  in  a  hot  fight 


296  BATTLE  NEAR  URES. 

with  Lanberg'  s  troops  and  Tannery' s  Indians.  Tlie  en- 
emy were  between  us  and  Governor  Pesquiera'  s  forces. 
When  they  discovered  us  they  attempted  to  cut  us  off ; 
and  liring  upon  our  party,  one  of  our  horses  was  shot 
under  its  rider.  We  took  up  our  dismounted  friend, 
and  succeeded  in  getting  around  out  of  reach  of  the 
enemy's  shots,  and  safely  reached  a  knoll  where  some 
of  our  artillery  were  posted.  In  coming  so  suddenly 
on  our  friends  we  came  near  being  shot  as  enemies,  but 
by  our  signs  and  shouting  they  recognized  us  and  were 
glad  of  our  assistance,  and  in  less  than  five  minutes  we 
were  at  work.  Governor  Pesquiera' s  troops  numbered 
about  five  thousand  five  hundred,  and  were  command- 
ed by  Generals  Garcia  Morales,  Alcontra,  and  Marti- 
nez. The  enemy  numbered  about  the  same,  and  fought 
with  desperation ;  for  both  sides  knew  full  well  that 
prisoners  were  no  object,  and  it  was  almost  certain 
death  to  fall  into  each  other' s  hands.  Governor  Pes- 
quiera was  fighting  to  get  possession  again  of  the  capital, 
and  regarded  this  battle  as  the  turning  point  in  Sonora. 
If  defeated  now  he  was  ruined,  and  therefore  every 
man  was  urged  to  do  his  best  to  gain  this  battle.  The 
Macheteros  under  Martinez  were  engaged  in  a  terrible 
contest  with  Tannery's  Indians.  When  Morales  saw 
that  I  had  arrived  on  the  field  he  gave  me  the  com- 
mand of  two  howitzers,  with  twenty-four  artillerymen, 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty  infantry  as  supports,  with 
orders  to  hasten  around  up  a  narrow  lane  and  pour  in 
a  raking  flank  fire  on  Tannery' s  Indians.  They  were 
mostly  mounted  men,  and  their  unearthly  yelling  in- 
spired the  whole  of  the  enemy' s  force  with  enthusiasm. 
In  starting  up  this  lane,  I  used  shell  for  awhile,  then 
approaching  nearer  I  used  grape  and  cannister,  driving 
the  Indians  and  killing  large  numbers.     I  overheard 


A   TROPHY.  297 

one  of  tlic4r  ofRcers,  a  Mexican,  say  to  his  men  as  lie 
pointed  to  me  :  ' '  Shoot  that  American  captain  ;  he  is 
doing  all  this  mischief."  He  was  behind  one  of  the 
Cottonwood  trees  which  skirted  the  road,  and  when  he 
showed  his  head  a  moment  later,  I  dropped  hini,  at  a 
distance  of  thirty  yards  or  more,  with  my  Texan  six- 
shooter.  I  saw  him  fall,  and  what  is  more,  I  have  now 
in  use  the  belt  he  wore  on  that  occasion. 

We  drove  them  before  us  like  sheep,  and  scattered 
them  in  all  directions.  On  arriving  at  the  end  of  the 
lane,  I  saw  General  Lanberg  and  his  adjutant,  both 
lying  dead;  and  Martinez's  cavalry  just  then  coming 
up,  they  put  a  lasso  around  the  general's  neck  and 
dragged  him  some  distance  and  hung  him  up  to  the 
limb  of  a  small  tree  so  that  his  toes  touched  the 
ground. 

A  heavy  thunder  storm  burst  upon  us  as  the  enemy 
were  fleeing,  with  our  cavalry  in  pursuit,  cutting  them 
up  unmercifully  ;  and  as  it  rained  in  torrents,  becom- 
ing quite  dark,  I  ceased  firing,  and  remained  on  the 
ground  till  daybreak,  keeping  my  ammunition  as  dry 
as  possible,  not  knowing  whether  we  should  be  attack- 
ed again  or  not.  Before  sunrise,  I  found  that  we  had 
cut  the  enemy  all  to  pieces,  and  I  received  orders  to  re- 
turn to  head-quarters,  and  march  into  the  city.  On 
arriving  in  the  city  I  saw  that  part  of  our  troops  were 
there  already,  and  had  got  intoxicated,  were  breaking 
into  houses,  &c.,  and  especially  some  men  who  joined 
us  from  Fort  Calabasa  were  committing  all  manner  of 
depredations.  Orders  were  then  given  to  go  into  bar- 
racks and  make  ourselves  as  comfortable  as  possible, 
and  preparations  were  made  to  bury  the  dead. 

Our  loss  in  the  battle  was  about  four  hundred  and 
eighty  killed  and  wounded.     Tliat  of  the  enemy  \vas 


298  JUAEEZ  AT   ZACATECAS. 

nearly  a  tliousand ;  and  Martinez' s  cavalry  pursued 
tliem  for  miles,  killing  man}^  officers  and  men  ;  and 
whenever  they  overtook  an  Indian,  he  was  cut  and 
hacked  to  pieces.  On  their  return  they  hung  up  the 
dead  bodies  to  trees  by  the  roadside.  This  decisive 
conflict  turned  the  tide  of  affairs  in  our  favor  in  Sone- 
ra, and  Governor  Pesquiera  had  things  his  own  way 
afterwards.  Throughout  the  Republic,  wherever  the 
news  went,  it  cheered  the  hearts  of  the  liberals.  Dis- 
patches were  sent  Juarez,  who  succeeded  Comonfort, 
and  had  been  president  since  the  disastrous  siege  and 
battle  of  Puebla. 

The  head-quarters  of  Juarez  were  at  Zacatecas, 
wliither  he  had  been  driven  by  the  French.  Maximil- 
ian had  possession  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  having  en- 
tered the  country  early  in  the  year  (1865),  and  as 
emperor  was  reigning  over  the  country  like  a  tyrant. 
The  announcement  of  the  slaughter  of  the  Austrian 
traitor,  General  Lanberg,  the  friend  of  Maximilian, 
with  the  flower  of  his  army  cut  to  pieces,  and  the  utter 
defeat  of  Tannery's  Indians,  made  the  friends  of  lib- 
erty rejoice  throughout  the  nation ;  no  doubt  contrib- 
uting much  to  the  downfall  of  Maximilian.  Martinez's 
cavalry  followed  up  this  victory  by  scouring  the  state 
of  Sonora,  sweeping  over  it  like  a  whirlwind  ;  scatter- 
ing the  French  and  traitors  everywhere ;  leaving  the 
French  no  foothold  except  at  the  port  of  Guaymas, 
which  was  defended,  in  part,  by  a  man-of-war. 


CHAPTEE  XIX. 

TO  offset  tliese  successes  in  the  northwest,  Maximil- 
ian, aided  by  the  traitor  generals,  Miramon,  Mar- 
quez,  and  Mejia,  liad  been  victorious  in  a  number  of 
engagements  in  lower  Mexico  and  the  interior. 

In  October,  1865,  an  infamous  decree,  called  the 
"black  Hag  decree,''  was  issued  by  Maximilian,  the 
first  article  of  which  provides  that  "all  persons  be- 
longing to  armed  bands  or  corps,  not  legally  author- 
ized, whether  they  proclaim  or  not  any  political  prin- 
ciples, and  whatever  be  the  number  of  those  who 
compose  the  said  bands,  theii*  organization,  character, 
and  denomination,  shall  be  tried  militarily  by  the 
courts  martial,  and  if  found  guilty,  even  of  the  fact  of 
belonging  to  the  band,  they  shall  be  condemned  to 
capital  punishment  within  the  twenty-four  hours  fol- 
lowing the  sentence."  This  decree  cost  Maximilian 
his  life  two  years  after.  Under  its  provisions.  General 
Arteaga,  commander-in-chief  of  the  liberals,  with  Gen- 
eral Salazar,  four  colonels,  five  lieutenant-colonels,  and 
several  hundred  prisoners  were  shot,  having  been  sur- 
prised and  captured  in  the  state  of  Miclioacan.  This 
wholesale  murder,  contrary  to  all  rules  of  civilized 
warfare,  had  the  most  damagmg  effect  on  the  cause  of 
Maximilian.  When  the  news  reached  us  in  Sonora, 
every  liberal  was  aroused  to  desperation,  and  resolved 
on  vengeance. 

Soon  after  this  decree,  and  while  we  were  at  ITres, 
the  capital,  we  received  dispatches  statmg  that  Presi- 
20 


300      FEENCU  TEOOPS  WITHDRAWN  FROM  MEXICO. 

dent  Juarez  liad  been  driven  out  of  the  country  by  his 
reverses,  and  forced  to  take  shelter  under  the  flag  of 
the  United  States,  at  El  Paso  del  Norte,  on  the  Rio 
Grande  river.  Similar  dispatches  were  sent  by  the 
president  to  the  liberal  governors  of  all  the  Mexican 
states,  requesting  them  to  raise  money  and  volunteers 
to  the  extent  of  their  ability,  and  unite  in  one  common 
eff'ort  to  drive  the  tyrant  and  usurper,  Maximilian, 
from  Mexican  soil. 

President  Juarez  secured  the  services  of  two  regi- 
ments, on  the  American  side  of  the  river,  and  recross- 
ing  with  them,  drove  the  French,  who  had  followed 
him  nearly  to  the  line,  back  into  the  interior ;  and 
many  of  them  retreated  in  such  haste  that  they  perish- 
ed on  their  way  over  the  sand  plains  and  barren  hills. 
President  Juarez  established  himself  at  Chihuahua, 
where  he  remained  for  a  considerable  time.  General 
Escobedo  was  appointed  by  him  to  command  the  liber- 
als in  Mexico,  and  this  officer  was  so  successful  in  re- 
organizing the  army  of  the  center,  as  it  was  called,  that 
after  a  while  Juarez  ventured  to  return  to  Zacatecas, 
which  city  he  fortified  as  his  head-quarters. 

The  next  news  of  in  ^oortance,  after  we  had  been  fa- 
vored with  a  series  of  successful  operations  in  Sonora, 
was  that  Louis  Napoleon  was  about  to  withdraw  the 
French  troops  from  Mexico.  The  reason  of  this  action 
of  the  French  emperor  was  very  easily  to  be  seen.  The 
civil  war  in  the  United  States  had  closed,  leaving  the 
government  in  condition  to  enforce  the  Monroe  dictrine, 
Jind  Napoleon  had  been  officially  notified  that  no  em- 
pire would  be  tolerated  in  Mexico ;  he  therefore  con- 
cluded to  withdraw  from  any  interference  tending  to 
the  establishment  of  such  an  empire,  before  he  found 
himself  in  trouble  with  the  United  States  government. 


KOXOIIA   CLEARKD   OF   ENEMIES.  301 

Now,  we  were  sure  that  victory,  sooner  or  later,  would 
perch  upon  our  banners  ;  and  the  church  party  trem- 
bled for  fear  that  Maximilian  would  not  be  able  to 
sustain  himself  long  after  the  evacuation  by  the 
French. 

AVe  soon  had  orders  for  a  portion  of  our  troops  to 
march  on  Guaymas,  which  was  the  only  place  in  So- 
nora  occupied  by  the  enemy ;  and  we  were  instructed 
to  clear  the  French  out  of  that  port  without  delay,  if 
we  found  them  in  possession  on  our  arrival.  On  our 
way  down  we  captured  six  officers  who  had  fought 
against  us  in  the  last  battle  at  Ures.  On  arriving  near 
the  mouth  of  tlie  Yagui  river,  we  learned  that  the  cele- 
brated Indian,  Tannery,  and  some  of  his  officers,  had 
just  embarked  on  a  vessel  for  Lower  California.  We 
chartered  another  vessel,  and  a  detachment  pursued 
the  fugitives,  overtaking  them  and  bringing  them  back 
without  much  difficulty.  These,  with  the  six  officers 
taken  on  the  way  down  from  Ures,  fifteen  in  all,  were 
condemned  to  be  shot  in  the  back  as  traitors,  while  one 
French  officer  was  shot  in  the  breast. 

The  French  had  mostly  left  Guaymas  before  our  ap- 
proach, being  mortally  afraid  of  us,  especially  of  the 
machetero  cavahy.  Their  man-of-war  still  remained 
in  port,  with  officers  and  some  French  troops  on 
board.  There  were  three  United  States  war  vessels — 
the  St.  Mary,  the  Suwannee,  and  the  Cheyenne — then 
near  at  hand  on  the  Pacific  coast,  sent  there  to  protect 
American  interests. 

One  evening,  while,  we  were  debating  how  to  dispose 
of  this  French  war  steamer,  and  whether  it  would  be 
feasible  to  blow  her  up  by  some  torpedo  arrangeuK^nt, 
we  were  agreeably  surprised  to  see  the  United  States 
ironclad  Suwannee  arrive  in  port.     The  French  vessel 


302  SERVICES    OF  A   U.  S,  WAR  VESSEL. 

lowered  a  boat  and  sent  officers  to  board  the  strange 
vessel  and  learn  lier  nationality  and  the  object  of  her 
visit.  The  United  States  commander  objected  to  a  visit 
at  that  hour  from  the  French  officers,  and  asked  them 
if  that  was  all  the  business  they  had  with  him.  Being 
answered  in  tlie  affirmative,  he  told  them  that  he  had  a 
notice  to  serve  on  them,  which  was  that  if  that  French 
war  vessel  was  in  the  harbor  the  next  day  at  four 
o'clock,  he  should  open  fire  on  her  and  sink  her  at 
once.  The  notice  was  all  that  was  needed,  for  the  next 
day  the  Frenchman  weighed  anchor,  and  departed  for 
Mazatlan.  The  Suwannee  followed  closely  after  her 
to  Mazatlan,  where  they  were  given  twenty -four  hours 
to  remove  some  officers  and  men  from  that  port ;  then 
the  Suwannee  followed  her  down  the  coast  past  Aca- 
pulco,  after  which  she  returned  to  Mazatlan. 

The  war  now  being  ended  in  the  state  of  Sonora,  and 
there  being  an  urgent  necessity  for  reinforcements  to 
go  to  central  Mexico,  to  aid  President  Juarez,  we  began 
raising  volunteers  around  Guaymas,  for  that  purpose. 
We  had  a  little  difficulty  with  our  cavalry  general, 
Martinez,  who  demanded  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  Gov- 
ernor Pesquiera  for  past  services  of  his  regiment  of 
outlaws.  The  demand  was  refused  by  Governor 
Pesquiera,  on  the  ground  that  his  men  had  already 
made  a  good  thing  out  of  the  war ;  as  many  of  them 
accumulated  a  large  amount  of  money,  for  they  stole 
every  thing  they  could  lay  their  hands  on.  Martinez 
threatened  to  steal  the  amount  out  of  the  Custom 
House  if  it  was  not  forthcoming  from  Pesquiera  ;  but 
the  matter  was  finally  compromised  ;  not,  however,  till 
the  governor  had  ordered  out  his  troops,  and  a  few 
drunken  men  of  the  cavalry  were  killed.  Some 
months  of  quiet  intervened,  diversified  with  occasional 


MARCH    FOR   ZACATECAS.  303 

skirmislies  in  the  mountains,  scouting  expeditions,  &c. 
I  then  had  orders  to  place  four  hundred  men  on  board 
the  steamer  Jolm  L.  Stevens,  and  go  witli  tli<'m  to 
Mazatlan,  wliere  General  Corona  held  command.  I 
remained  at  ^Mazatlan,  after  our  arrival  there,  only  a 
few  weeks,  before  the  general  had  a  well  organized 
force  of  three  thousand  troops  all  ready  to  start  for 
the  head-quarters  of  President  Juarez,  at  Zacatecas,  or 
of  his  army,  under  the  command  of  General  Escobedo. 

It  may  be  well  to  state  here  that  while  these  active 
operations  had  been  in  progress  in  Sonora,  under  the 
direction  of  Governor  Pesquiera,  General  Morales,  and 
others.  General  Ramon  Corona  had  not  been  idle  in 
Cinaloa.  He  had  kept  the  French  bottled  up  in  Mazat- 
lan, month  after  month,  and  whenever  they  made  a 
sortie  beyond  the  fortifications,  they  were  sure  to  be 
badly  defeated.  On  two  occasions  they  were  terribly 
punished  and  cut  up  ;  once  at  the  Presido  of  Mazatlan, 
and  again  at  Palos  Prietos. 

General  Corona  commanded  the  expedition  to  Zaca- 
tecas in  person  ;  and  I,  as  captain  of  artillery,  was 
placed  in  charge  of  two  twenty -four-pounders,  splen- 
did guns,  and  well  manned  by  brave  men.  We  were 
well  mounted,  well  armed  and  provisioned ;  in  fact, 
felt  competent  to  meet  the  French  or  the  Mexican 
traitors  anywhere.  Taking  Tepic  in  our  route,  we 
came  suddenly  upon  a  force  of  three  or  four  thousand 
Indians,  led  by  the  crafty  Indian  chief,  Lozado,  who 
was  in  favor  of  the  imperial  cause.  We  attacked 
them,  and  the  battle  lasted  the  whole  day,  when  tliey 
n^treated  to  their  favorite  haunts  in  the  mountains  of 
Allico.  Their  loss  was  over  eight  hundred,  while  onrs 
was  not  over  two  hundred  men.  We  continued  on  to- 
Guadalaxara,  where  we  stopped  for  rest,  and  to  gain 


304  EXPLANATIONS. 

recruits,  who  came  in  daily  in  large  numbers,  and  to 
wait  for  orders  from  head-quarters.  We  soon  muster- 
ed a  force  of  four  thousand  well  drilled  men,  as  our 
recruits  had  all  seen  service,  more  or  less.  Our  artil- 
lery were  in  capital  order,  but  the  pieces  were  mostly 
light  guns,  for  field  service,  and  hardly  adapted  for 
siege  work. 

As  this  narrative  is  not  designed  as  a  complete  book 
of  reference,  nor  to  contain  a  history  of  all  the  milita- 
ry operations  of  the  liberal  party  during  these  troubles, 
I  have  mainly  endeavored  to  give  an  account  of  mat- 
ters that  came  under  my  personal  observation.  I  knew 
but  little  of  the  generals  who  led  our  forces  in  central 
Mexico  from  the  time  of  the  siege  and  capture  of  Pu- 
ebla  until  we  had  cleaned  the  French  out  of  Sonora 
and  Cinaloa.  Many  of  the  names  of  prominent  men 
mentioned  in  this  narrative  may  be  incorrectly  spelled, 
as  I  have  endeavored  to  give  the  spelling  from  the 
sound,  which  can  not  always  be  correctly  done  with 
Spanish  names  any  more  than  with  English. 

I  knew  by  the  reports  that  they  had  occasional  re- 
verses and  occasional  successes  or  victories  over  the 
combined  forces  of  the  Mexican  traitors  and  the  foreign 
legions  of  Maximilian.  I  never  doubted  the  adminis- 
trative talent  of  President  Juarez,  nor  the  ability  of 
General  Escobedo,  both  of  whom  were  nobly  fitted  for 
their  positions,  judging  from  the  results.  Tlie  justness 
of  our  cause,  and  the  sympathy  of  our  sister  republic 
of  the  United  States,  gave  us  encouragement  at  all 
times,  and  aided  the  liberals  in  their  days  of  darkness 
and  discouragement. 

At  this  time,  March,  1867,  Maximilian's  cause  was 
rapidly  sinking.  The  French  troops  had  left  Mexico, 
and  he  was  forced  to  rely  mainly  on  the  troops  of 


CARLOTTA'S    advice  to   MAXIMILIAN.  305 

Miitimon  and  Mejia  for  Hiipport,  and  greatly  ovo7-<'sti- 
mated  their  jjovver  in  thinking  they  could  uphold  him. 
K  he  had  followed  the  advice  of  Carlotta,  his  wife,  and 
left  Mexico  with  the  French  troops,  it  would  have  bec^n 
far  better  for  him.  She  told  him  before  she  left  Mexi- 
co, that  he  had  better  leave  with  her,  for  if  he  stayed 
she  feared  he  would  never  see  her  again,  and,  for  her 
part,  she  would  prefer  to  give  a  part  of  her  vast  prop- 
erty for  the  education  of  this  ignorant  nation,  than  have 
the  empty  credit  of  ruling  over  them.  The  aristocratic 
tendencies,  and  the  royal  connections  of  this  vain  pre- 
tender decided  him  to  make  a  stand  and  fight  the  libe- 
rals with  the  aid  of  the  traitors  and  church  party. 
Maximilian  was  now  fortified  at  Queretaro,  with  about 
ten  thousand  troops.  President  Juarez  had  his  head- 
quarters at  Zacatecas,  depending  for  sup2:)ort  on  tht^ 
army  of  Escobedo,  which  was  encamped  a  number  of 
miles  distant.  Maximilian  sent  Miramon,  with  the 
flower  of  his  army,  to  Zacatecas,  to  attack  the  city 
and  capture  Juarez,  if  psssible.  They  had  nearly 
succeeded  in  this,  when  Escobedo,  by  a  forced  march, 
arrived  \n  ith  his  army  to  the  relief  of  Zacatecas,  and 
routed  Miramon'' s  troops,  who  retreated  in  a  panic,  and 
with  great  loss,  toward  Queretaro.  Escobedo' s  army, 
joined  with  some  liberal  troops  under  G(Mieral  Castillo, 
and  after  pursuing  them  about  tliirt}'  miles,  surround- 
ed the  imperialists,  when  they  were  nearly  all  killed 
or  dispersed,  Miramon  barely  escaping  with  his  life, 
having  only  a  feeble  remnant  of  his  followers  left  when 
he  arrived  at  Queretaro. 

Just  prior  to  this  attack  on  Zacatecas,  General  Coro- 
na had  received  orders  to  march  for  that  place,  and 
had  been  marching  for  two  days,  mth  all  haste,  when 
additional  dispatches  came,  announcing  the  victory  of 


306  BATTLE   OF    QUERETAEO. 

the  liberals  at  Zacatecas,  and  ordering  us  to  hasten 
forward  to  Queretaro.  By  a  forced  march,  General 
Corona's  force,  numbering  about  four  thousand,  ar- 
rived at  Queretaro,  the  first  week  in  April,  1867,  just 
in  time  to  particij^ate  in  the  last  grand  engagement 
which  ended  imperialism  on  this  continent.  We  took 
a  position  on  the  high  ground  to  the  south  of  the  city, 
while  the  American  Legion,  under  Regules,  occupied 
the  west,  and  General  Escobedo's  army  were  on  the 
heights  to  the  east  and  north-east  of  tlie  city. 

General  Ramon  Corona  was  destined  to  be  the  hero 
of  this  siege.  Our  position  was  in  full  view  of  the  old 
convent  of  Las  Cruces  and  within  easy  range.  This 
was  an  immense  stone  structure  with  walls  of  great 
thickness,  and  here  Maximilian  made  his  head-quarters. 
The  bombardment  commenced  in  earnest  and  was  con- 
tinued for  three  days  with  little  cessation.  Meantime, 
General  Corona  had  given  me  a  position  with  my  two 
twenty-four  pounders  on  an  eminence  where  every  shot 
would  tell,  but  he  discovered  and  so  did  I,  and  so  re- 
ported the  first  day  that  my  guns  were  too  light  to  bat- 
ter the  convent  walls  as  I  wished.  He  gave  me  orders 
to  start  for  Zelaya,  forty  miles  distant,  with  a  strong 
escort,  and  bring  two  heavy  siege  guns,  forty-eight 
pounders,  which  I  did,  and  planted  them  in  position. 
These  heavy  guns  worked  successfully,  making  many 
breaches  in  the  walls  of  the  convent. 

General  Lopez  had  a  force  of  Austrians,  a  few  French 
and  some  Mexicans  defending  the  convent,  as  a  sort  of 
body-guard  for  Maximilian  ;  and  my  heavy  guns  de- 
molished such  buildings  as  they  sought  refuge  in. 
Other  batteries  surrounding  the  city  were  engaged  in 
an  incessant  fire,  destroying  buildings  and  demolish- 
ing walls  and  obstructions,  opening  the  way  for  the 


THE   WHITE   FLAG   RAISED.  307 

liberals,  who  luid  already  gained  possession  of  a  part 
of  the  city  and  were  often  engaged  in  liand  to  liand 
conflicts  with  the  imperialists  in  the  streets.  On  the 
fourteenth  of  May,  about  4  o'clock  in  tlie  morning,  we 
lodged  a  shell  in  the  magazine  at  Las  Cruces,  wliich 
exploded  it,  doing  great  damage  and  killing  many. 
The  enemy  made  a  sortie  under  the  lead  of  Miramon, 
intending  to  drive  back  General  Corona,  who,  with  his 
advance  guard  and  a  strong  support  of  infantry,  had 
entered  the  cemetery  and  were  fighting  their  way  to- 
wards the  fortress  of  Las  Cruces.  After  falling  back  a 
little.  General  Corona  was  reinforced  and  drove  the 
enemy  back  into  the  city  with  great  slaughter,  and  had 
nearly  surrounded  Maximilian's  head-quarters,  when 
the  enemy  surrendered  and  tin;  firing  ceased.  Maxi- 
milian came  out  of  the  fortress,  and  the  white  fiag  was  dis- 
played. On  his  appearance  he  was  approached  by 
Colonel  Green,  of  the  American  Legion,  who  urged 
him  to  be  calm,  as  he  was  very  much  excited.  ^laxi- 
milian  stood  in  great  fear  of  the  liberal  soldiers,  as  well 
he  might,  when  he  thought  of  the  "Black  Flag  De- 
cree," and  desu'ed  to  surrender  his  sword  to,  and  claim 
the  protection  of  the  commanding  officer,  as  a  prisoner 
of  war.  He  was  directed  to  General  Corona  by  Colo- 
nel Green.  As  he  walked  on  towards  Corona,  who, 
■s\dth  his  staff,  were  mounted,  and  were  rapidly  sur- 
rounding the  emperor  with  the  troops,  I  had  a  good 
view  of  ^Maximilian,  for  I  had  ridden  up  in  haste  and 
sat  on  my  horse  almost  in  his  pathway.  As  he  passed 
me  he  was  a  little  in  doubt  as  to  which  was  Corona, 
and,  turning  his  head,  he  asked  me  to  point  him  out. 
I  replied  in  English  that  General  Ramon  Corona  was 
the  one  who  was  mounted  on  the  grey  horse.  He  start- 
ed in  surprise  at  my  reply,  and  asked  me  if  I  was  an 


308  SUREENDER   OF   MAXIMILIAN. 

American,  and  I  answered  that  I  was.  He  then  passed 
up  to  Corona,  and,  presenting  his  sword,  said,  "  I  am 
Maximilian.  I  am  emperor  no  longer,  but  your  pris- 
oner." General  Corona,  as  he  received  the  sword,  re- 
plied, "No,  Maximilian,  you  are  not  now  emperor, 
and  never  were." 

Maximilian's  troops  now  began  the  work  of  disarm- 
ing, and  our  men  ransacked  the  convent  and  other 
buildings  adjacent,  to  find  Miramon  and  Mejia.  They 
seized  Miramon,  and  would  have  hung  him  but  for  the 
interference  of  General  Corona,  who  insisted  that  he 
should  have  a  trial,  according  to  the  laws  of  Mexico, 
and  be  punished  with  other  traitors  in  a  proper  manner. 
Me'jia  was  soon  caught,  and  these  three  important 
prisoners  were  confined  in  an  old  convent,  and  kept 
under  a  strong  guard.  General  Corona,  after  a  confer- 
ence with  General  Escobedo,  sent  a  dispatch  to  Presi- 
dent Juarez,  reporting  the  results  of  this  siege,  and 
requesting  advice  in  the  matter.  In  reply  to  this  dis- 
patch, the  president  appeared  at  Queretaro  in  person  ; 
and  by  his  directions  General  Escobedo  summoned  a 
court-martial  for  the  trial  of  the  prisoners,  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  May,  but  which  was  postponed  till  the  thir- 
teenth of  June.  Maximilian,  Miramon,  and  Mejia 
were  sentenced  on  the  sixteenth,  and  were  finally  shot 
on  June  19,  1867. 

When  Maximilian  read  his  death  warrant,  President 
Juarez  showed  him  the  infamous  decree  of  October  3, 
18G.5,  under  which  hundreds  of  the  liberals  had  been 
shot  as  soon  as  captured.  He  asked  Maximilian  if  he 
signed  that  decree,  and,  if  so,  what  he  had  to  say  in 
justification  of  such  barbarous  warfare.  He  admitted 
signing  the  decree,  but  said  nothing  in  defense  of  his 
conduct.     He  requested  a  respite  of  his  sentence  for 


MAXIMILIAN   AND   THE    DOCTORS.  309 

three  days,  wliicli  was  granted,  to  give  liim  time  to  ar- 
range liis  matters.  He  sent  for  an  English  pliysician 
and  his  assistant,  to  make  arrangements  for  a  metallic 
coffin,  and  for  the  <>mbalming  of  his  body.  This  inter- 
view was  allowed  on  condition  that  myself  and  two 
other  officers  were  present  to  witness  it.  When  Doctor 
Jenkins  and  Kerford  arrived,  the  conversation  was 
brief.  Maximilian  requested  them  to  furnish  a  tight 
metallic  coffin,  with  a  glass  top,  and  wished  his  body 
embalmed  and  placed  in  a  natural  position  in  such  a 
way  that  it  could  be  transported  to  Austria.  He  de- 
sired that  the  coffin  should  be  placed  near  the  place 
where  he  was  to  be  shot,  as  he  wished  to  see  it.  He 
then  gave  Doctor  Jenkins  a  check  to  pay  for  his 
services  and  for  the  coffin,  and  we  retired.  He  then 
made  his  will,  giving  to  his  brother  and  his  wife  the 
whole  of  his  vast  property,  except  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  which  he  reserved  for  the  wife  and  family 
of  Miramon. 

At  3  o'clock  on  the  nineteenth,  the  prisoners  w^ere 
marched  out  of  their  prison,  the  convent  of  Los  Capu- 
cliinos,  to  carriages  in  waiting.  Maximilian  was  seated 
with  a  priest  in  one  carriage,  and  Miramon  and  ]\Iejia 
in  another.  General  Escobedo  ordered  out  four  thou- 
sand troops  to  attend  the  execution,  who  were  arranged 
in  position  at  the  fatal  spot  when  the  carriages  and  pro- 
cession arrived.  The  place  selected  was  in  front  of  an 
old  wall,  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  and  a  seat  had 
been  provided  for  Maximilian,  Avitli  his  coffin  near 
by.  When  he  left  the  carriage,  the  priest  gave 
him  a  cross  to  hold  in  his  hand ;  and,  as  he  ap- 
proached his  coffin,  he  examined  it  closely.  Doctor 
Jenkins  was  present,  and  asked  him  if  his  coffin  was 
satisfactory  to'  him,  and  he  replied  that  it  was.     The 


310  LAST   AVOKDS  OF   MIFwAMON. 

doomed  men  were  then  placed  in  position  to  meet 
tlieir  fate. 

Maximilian  was  asked  what  lie  had  to  say,  and  he 
asked  permission  of  General  Corona,  who  was  standing 
near,  to  confer  with  the  guard,  who  were  drawn  up  in 
front  waiting  for  orders  to  tire,  as  he  desired  them  to 
shoot  him  in  the  breast  and  not  disfigure  his  face.  His 
request  was  granted,  and  he  gave  to  the  officer  of  the 
guard  a  gold  watch,  to  the  sergeant  a  gold  medal,  and  to 
each  man  of  the  platoon  an  ounce  of  gold,  telling  General 
Corona  to  keep  his  sword,  which  he  had  surrendered  to 
him  before,  as  a  present.  He  blamed  Louis  Napoleon 
as  the  cause  of  all  his  disasters.  The  medal  he  pre- 
sented to  the  sergeant  was  one  he  had  received  from 
Victor  Emanuel ;  and  the  Emperor  of  Austria  has 
since  paid  the  sergeant  a  large  sum  for  it  in  order  to  get 
it  back  to  Europe.  All  this  occurred  in  the  space  of  a 
few  moments,  after  which  he  was  busily  occupied  with 
the  priest. 

General  Miramon  was  asked  if  he  had  anything  to 
say.  He  said  he  was  to  be  shot  as  a  traitor,  but  he  did 
not  consider  himself  as  such.  He  believed  he  was  act- 
ing for  the  good  of  his  country.  Since  the  revolution 
of  Santa  Anna,  he  had  seen  no  stable  government  in 
Mexico,— nothing  but  revolutions  and  fighting  among 
themselves,  and  the  country  would  never  become  peace- 
ful until  some  other  nation  assumed  control  of  the 
government.  And,  said  he,  "Now  that  I  am  about  to 
die,  remember  what  I  say  to  you  ;  for  you  will  live  to 
see  my  words  prove  true. ' '  Tlien  shaking  hands  with  the 
priest,  who  stepped  one  side,  the  two  Mexican  generals 
were  placed  on  seats,  with  their  faces  to  the  wall  and 
their  backs  to  the  soldiers.  Maximilian  stood  up  bold- 
ly, holding  out  the  cross  and  facing  the  executioners. 


THE  EXECUTIOIJ^.  311 

He  refused  to  be  blindfolded,  and  advanced  two  steps 
nearer  to  receive  tlie  lire.  His  last  words  were  :  "  Poor 
Carlotta,  had  I  taken  your  advice  it  would  have  been 
far  better  for  me." 

Looking  directly  at  the  file  of  soldiers  he  signified 
that  he  was  ready,  when  they  received  the  order  to^re, 
and  the  three  doomed  men  fell  to  the  ground,  dj'ing 
almost  instantly.  Maximilian  stood  so  close  to  the 
executioners  that  his  clothes  took  fire,  but  were  soon 
extinguished.  The  soldiers  were  ordered  back  to  their 
barracks.  They  marched  in  silence,  for  they  had  wit- 
nessed a  solemn  spectacle.  The  two  Mexican  ofiicers 
were  placed  in  coffins,  and  buried  in  the  cemetery  the 
next  day.  Maximilian's  bod}^  was  taken  in  charge  by 
Doctor  Jenkins  and  his  assistants,  and  speedily  em- 
balmed ;  then  the  authorities  took  possession  of  it. 
Several  days  after  this,  a  discussion  arose  in  camp  rel- 
ative to  the  embalming  of  bodies,  and  a  number  of  us 
had  a  desire  to  see  the  body  of  Maximilian,  and  ob- 
tained permission  to  do  so.  We  found  the  counten- 
ance well  preserved  and  very  life-like.  Three  days 
after  the  execution,  four  Mexican  officers,  who  had 
been  secreted  by  some  Mexican  women,  were  discover- 
ed by  the  soldiers.  They  were  summaril}"  shot  by  the 
soldiers,  as  was 'the  traitor,  Colonel  Mendez,  the  brute 
who  ordered  the  shooting  of  the  six  hundred  liberal 
prisoners.  These  five  traitors  were  shot  in  the  back 
without  trial. 

In  the  battle  of  Queretaro,  which  resulted  in  tlie 
capture  of  Maximilian,  the  enemy  lost  about  fifteen 
hundrivl  killed  and  wouiuhMl,  and  the  loss  on  our  side 
was  estimated  at  eight  hundred  and  fifty.  After  the 
battle,  the  appearance  of  the  city  was  frightful,  a  large 
portion  of  the   buildings  being  in  ruins.      President 


312 


TRIUMPHAL   ENTRY   INTO   MEXICO. 


Juarez  ordered  that  the  three  or  four  hundred  officers 
and  several  thousand  prisoners  captured  by  us,  be  dis- 
armed and  allowed  to  return  to  tlieir  liomes.  He  then 
issued  proclamations,  re-formed  his  cabinet,  appointed 
civil  officers,  promoted  military  officers  for  their  brav- 
ery, set  in  motion  the  whole  machinery  of  his  govern- 
ment, and  finally  returned,  July  15,  18G7,  to  the  city 
of  Mexico,  which  he  entered  in  triumph,  amid  the 
ringing  of  bells,  firing  of  cannon,  and  the  noisiest  de- 
monstrations of  rejoicing  from  his  countrymen.  He 
was  accompanied  by  a  large  force  of  mounted  men, 
who  were  constituted  the  president' s  guard  in  the  city. 
Most  of  our  troo]3s  remained  several  weeks  in  Quere- 
taro  after  the  battle.  Some  were  discharged  and  paid 
off  with  funds  received  from  the  president,  for  the  war 
was  now  virtually  over. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

INTELLIGENCE  was  received  by  General  Corona 
that  a  troublesome  traitor,  named  General  Marquez, 
had  a  force  in  Oaxaca,  capital  of  the  state  of  Oaxaca, 
about  two  liundred  and  thirty  miles  soutli  of  tlie  city 
of  Mexico,  and  that  he  was  still  operating  against  the 
liberals,  having  no  disposition  to  surrender.  Nearly 
twenty-five  hundred  of  our  troops  were  ordered  down 
to  Oaxaca  to  disperse  these  traitors  and  rebels.  The 
mai-ch  occupied  eighteen  days,  and  while  we  were  on 
the  march.  General  Marquez,  hearing  of  our  approach, 
disbanded  his  troops  and  fled  from  the  country.  Find- 
ing, on  our  arrival,  no  troops  to  light,  and  many  of 
our  men  being  impatient  to  go  to  their  homes,  as  the 
war  was  about  finished,  they  mutinied  and  di^nianded 
their  discharge  and  pay  from  our  commander.  He  re- 
plied that  he  had  no  funds  on  hand  to  pay  tliem.  Tlie 
soldiers  then  made  a  raid  on  the  churches  and  several 
wealthy  houses  in  the  city,  wliich  containi^d  much  gold 
and  silver.  In  trying  to  suppress  tliis  raid  and  restore 
order,  one  of  our  captains  was  killed.  About  fifteen 
hundred  troops  were  engaged  in  this  ]ul]ag(',  and  after 
securing  all  they  could  lay  their  hands  on,  they  de- 
serted. 

We  were  now  left  with  only  about  one  thousand 
faitliful  troops,  and  our  General  reported  our  condition 
to  President  Juarez.  Money  soon  arrived,  and  the  re- 
maining troops  were  paid,  with  tlie  agreement  that  they 
should  remain  a  while  longer  in  the  service.     We  re- 


314  I   RESIGN   MY   CAPTAINCY. 

mained  in  camp  near  the  city  about  a  month,  when  we 
received  orders  to  march  for  the  mountains  of  Allico, 
to  attack  the  Indians  under  Lozado,  who  were  at  this 
time  about  the  only  enemies  in  open  arms  against  the 
cause  of  the  liberals.  This  march  overland  consumed 
about  three  months'  time  ;  but,  while  on  the  route,  we 
received  large  additions  to  our  numbers  in  various 
places,  so  that  when  we  arrived  at  Tepic,  where  Lozado 
was  posted,  we  mustered  about  three  thousand  troops, 
well  armed,  and  commanded  by  our  favorite.  General 
Corona.  Here  we  had  a  severe  engagement  with  Lo- 
zado' s  Indians,  and  drove  them  back  into  the  moun- 
tains of  Allico.  We  remained  in  that  vicinity  several 
weeks,  having  frequent  skirmishes  with  them,  losing 
four  to  five  hundred,  while  their  loss  was  about  half 
that  number.  These  Indians  are  so  skilled  in  moun- 
tain warfare,  and  have  such  an  advantage  of  position 
in  their  mountain  retreats,  that  it  is  totally  impossible 
for  any  ordinary  army  to  dislodge  them,  or  to  fight 
them  on  fair  terms.  (I  have  learned  recently  that  Lo- 
zado still  holds  the  same  position  in  those  mountains, 
and  is  remarkable  for  his  guerrilla  attacks  and  fre- 
quent robberies). 

I  now  became  tired  and  disgusted  with  fighting  these 
Indians  at  such  disadvantages  ;  and,  feeling  that  I  had 
discharged  my  duty  towards  Mexico,  I  resigned  my 
position  as  captain  of  artillery,  and  requested  my  dis- 
charge of  General  Corona.  He  replied  that  he  would 
be  sorry  to  lose  me,  and  that  he  had  no  money  to  pay 
me  ;  that  I  had  been  a  very  faithful  officer  in  the  ser- 
vice, and  deserved  great  praise  for  my  bravery ; 
and  that  if  I  would  wait  till  he  could  receive  a  dispatch 
from  President  Juarez  he  would  be  able  to  pay  me.  I 
told  him  I  knew  the  condition  of  their  government,  and 


PAID    BY   THE   GOVERNOll  OF   SONORA.  315 

that  I  did  not  wish  to  remain  any  longer.  He  replied 
that  if  I  insisted  on  my  discharge  he  would  give  it  to 
me,  wliicli  lie  did. 

I  then  left  for  the  state  of  Sonora,  Corona  furnishing 
me  one  hundi-ed  and  fifty  dollars  for  my  expenses  on 
the  way.  I  tokl  him  tliat  as  I  had  spent  most  of  my 
time  in  the  service  of  tlie  state  of  Sonora,  I  tliought  I 
could  arrange  for  my  pay  with  Governor  Pesquiera, 
of  that  state.  On  my  arrival  in  Sonora,  I  was  cordially 
welcomed  by  the  governor.  I  gave  him  a  history  of 
our  campaign  since  I  left  him  ;  and  detailed  to  him  the 
death  of  Maximilian,  &c.  He  then  inquired  if  the 
president  had  paid  me  for  my  services.  I  told  him  he 
had  not.  He  said  his  state  was  badly  off  for  money, 
but  that  he  had  a  quantity  of  confiscated  landed  prop- 
erty, and  if  I  wished  that  I  could  have  it.  This 
property  he  informed  me  was  a  league  square,  and  had 
belonged  to  a  Frenchman,  who  took  part  with  the 
French  and  was  killed.  I  told  him  I  would  look  at  the 
land,  and  if  I  liked  it  I  would  take  it.  I  examined  it, 
and  found  about  one  hundred  acres  under  cultivation, 
and  concluded  to  take  it  if  he  could  furnish  me  a  valid 
title,  which  he  said  he  could  do,  and  have  it  free  from 
taxes  so  long  as  I  retained  the  property.  He  tlu^n  gave 
me  an  order  on  the  president,  who  sent  me  a  valid  title 
to  the  land  in  payment  for  my  services. 

Being  anxious  to  see  my  old  American  friends,  the 
officers  at  Fort  Tubac,  which  was  in  command  of 
Colonel  Dunkenberger,  I  then  left  for  the  territory  of 
Arizona,  and  contracted  at  Fort  Tubac  to  furnish  hay 
for  the  Uniti'd  States  government.  I  received  the  con- 
tract from  Colonel  Dunkenberger  and  Major  Yail,  and 
by  its  terms  I  was  to  receive  thirty  dollars  per  ton, 
(gold),  for  furnishing  the  hay,  delivered  in  the  Fort  of 
21 


316  "peaceable"     INDIANS. 

Tubac.  Shortly  after  receiving  this  contract,  the 
Apache  Indians  came  into  Tubac  one  night,  and  carried 
off  all  my  mules  with  which  I  was  to  hanl  my  hay, 
and  stole  most  of  the  government  horses  besides.  The 
following  day  an  expedition,  under  command  of  Colo- 
nel Dunkenberger,  started  to  overtake  the  Indians,  and 
I  went  with  them.  We  overtook  the  Indians  at  the 
foot  of  the  Santa  Rito  mountain.  An  Indian  of  this 
thieving  band,  notwithstanding  they  had  in  their  pos- 
session my  mules  and  the  government  horses,  came  to 
us  with  a  certificate  from  the  officers  of  Fort  Goodwin, 
claiming  that  he  and  his  party  were  peaceable  Indians. 
The  colonel,  after  reading  the  paper,  said  he  was  under 
restrictions  not  to  fight  peaceable  Indians,  as  these  had 
proved  themselves  to  be  by  this  certificate,  and  was 
undecided  what  steps  to  take,  as  they  denied  having 
the  animals.  The  soldiers  hooted  at  the  colonel  for  his 
conduct,  as  they  saw  the  stolen  animals  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Indians,  and  so  did  I ;  for  I  knew  the  brand 
on  my  mules.  I  told  him  I  should  take  the  responsi- 
bility to  attack  them  as  thieves,  unless  he  became  re- 
sponsible for  my  part  of  the  animals  stolen.  This  he 
agreed  to  do,  and  we  returned  to  Tubac,  where  I  re- 
sumed the  work  of  filling  my  contract,  being  supplied 
by  the  colonel  with  other  mules.  In  due  time  I  finished 
the  contract,  hiring  all  the  work  done  by  Mexicans, 
and  received  my  pay. 

From  Tubac  I  went  to  Tueson  and  took  a  sub-con- 
tract from  a  contractor  named  John  Gapron,  for  getting 
out  timber  for  the  United  Stntes  government  for  use  in 
the  construction  of  government  wagons,  to  be  delivered 
at  fort  Calibasa  to  my  old  friend  Colonel  Lewis.  I  was 
to  receive  twenty-five  cents  each  for  spokes,  and  five 
dollars  each  for  hounds  and  tongues.     I  then  returned 


SEVEN   TO   OXE.  317 

to  Tubac  and  hired  seven  men  to  go  with  me  to  the 
Bird  mountains,  near  Fort  Calibasa,  for  the  purpose  of 
getting  out  tliis  timber.  I  liad  nearly  accomplished  my 
contract,  when  one  niglit  our  horses  became  frightened, 
and,  as  there  were  some  appearances  of  Indians  about 
our  camp,  we  immediately  gathered  our  horses  and 
fastened  them  near  our  camp,  and  placed  a  guard  for 
our  safety.  The  next  morning,  on  examining  the 
ground  around  outside,  I  saw  the  tracks  of  moccasins 
in  a  sandy  hollow.  That  day  we  took  our  horses  with 
us  to  where  we  were  cutting  timber,  and  kept  a  sharp 
look-out  for  Indians.  We  worked  till  about  4  o'clock 
that  afternoon,  when  I  told  my  men  I  w^ould  go  to  a 
hollow  a  short  distance  above,  where  I  had  seen  some 
better  timber,  as  I  wanted  to  jiick  out  something  suita- 
ble for  a  few  more  wagon-tongues.  I  took  along  my 
rifle  and  revolver,  and  advised  them  to  keep  a  good 
look-out  for  themselves. 

In  this  mountain  were  great  numbers  of  wild  turkeys, 
deer  and  bears,  and  from  this  source  we  obtained  all 
the  meat  we  wanted.  Our  other  supplies  we  easily  ob- 
tained from  the  fort  whenever  we  hauled  a  load  there. 
After  I  left  the  men  and  had  proceeded  some  three  hun- 
dred yards,  I  discovered,  while  marking  with  my 
hatchet,  some  good  trees,  that  there  were  seven  black 
objects  to  my  right  and  rather  between  me  and  my 
men.  At  first  I  took  them  for  turkej's,  but  soon  found 
them  to  be  Apache  Indians.  Being  so  well  acquainted 
with  that  species  of  game,  I  gave  a  war-whoop  for  a 
signal  to  my  men  ;  at  the  same  time  I  saw  two  large  oak 
trees  n<^ar  tosrether,  with  a  hu2;e  rock  in  front,  and  I 
hurried  there  for  defense.  Before  I  had  got  behind  the 
rock,  I  was  shot  in  the  right  leg,  below  the  knee.  Six 
buck-shot  entered  and  lodged,  as  it  afterwards  appear- 


318  EXCHANGING  SHOTS. 

el.  I  fell  down  behind  the  rock,  but  immediately 
raised  to  look  at  the  enemy.  Seeing  an  Indian  ap- 
proaching, I  leveled  my  rifle  and  shot  him  dead.  Dis- 
covering the  other  six  Indians  coming  np,  I  took  good 
aim,  with  my  large  Texan  six-shooter,  at  the  foremost 
one,  while  he  drew  up  his  bow  to  shoot  at  me.  I  shot 
him  between  the  eyes,  which  dropped  him.  He  hit  me 
with  his  arrow  in  the  right  cheek,  near  my  nose,  where 
the  scar  still  shows  very  plainly.  By  this  time  my 
men  were  close  at  hand  to  assist  me,  and  the  Indians 
ran  for  their  lives ;  but  I  fired  again,  hitting  one  of 
them  in  the  hip,  who  had  to  be  helped  off  by  his  com- 
panions. Part  of  my  men  pursued  the  Indians  some 
distance,  but  soon  returned  to  see  if  I  was  badly  in- 
jured. They  found  my  leg  bleeding  profusely  from  the 
buckshot  wounds,  and  I  sent  them  after  dry  punk  to 
put  in  the  wounds  to  stop  the  blood.  The  arrow  that 
struck  me  in  the  face  I  had  pulled  out,  and  this  wound 
was  not  so  bad  as  to  occasion  any  alarm.  They  picked 
up  the  gun  with  which  the  Indian  shot  me,  and  I  re- 
cognized it  as  having  belonged  to  a  friend  of  mine  by 
the  name  of  Scott,  who  lived  at  a  cabin  four  miles  be- 
low ;  and  I  made  up  my  mind  that  they  had  murdered 
him.  I  asked  my  men  if  any  of  them  had  a  sharp 
knife,  and,  finding  them  unwilling  to  scalp  the  Indians, 
I  took  the  knife  and  undertook  the  job,  for  I  wanted 
to  show  their  scalps  at  the  fort. 

The  Indian  who  shot  me  had  very  long  hair,  fastened 
up  with  metal  rings.  We  started  for  our  camp,  leav- 
ing the  bodies  where  they  lay  and  taking  the  scalps.  I 
fainted  from  loss  of  blood  before  getting  to  camp,  and 
my  men  carried  me  to  my  tent,  where  I  soon  revived. 
By  a  further  application  of  dry  powdered  punk  the 
bleeding  was  stopped.     I  sent  to  the  fort  for  assistance, 


INCREDULITY    CONVINCED.  319 

and  before  dayliglit  tlie  next  morning  about  forty  cav- 
alry arrived  witli  my  messenger.  I  gave  tliem  dii-ec- 
tions  for  the  pursuit  of  the  Indians,  and  they  found  the 
wounded  on(^  about  two  miles  distant,  where  he  had 
dropped  dead  and  been  left  by  his  companions,  with  his 
flesh  eaten  off  to  the  bones  by  bears.  A  snow-storm 
coming  on,  they  returned  to  my  camp,  place  me  on  a 
horse  and  started  for  the  fort,  which  was  some  ten  miles 
distant.  After  riding  two  miles,  my  wound  in  the  leg 
broke  out  afresh,  and  bled  so  much  that  they  were 
obliged  to  take  me  from  the  horse,  and  placed  me 
under  a  tree,  where  I  again  stopped  the  blood  with  fine 
punk.  My  men  then  made  a  litter  of  poles  and  blan- 
kets, and  carried  me  to  the  fort. 

On  my  arrival  there  was  much  excitement  on  account 
of  my  fight,  as  the  officers  had  great  confidence  in  the 
peaceable  nature  of  the  surrounding  tribes.  I  informed 
Colonel  Lewis  that  the  gun  we  had  picked  up  belonged 
to  my  friend  Scott,  whose  place  was  some  four  miles 
below  where  I  was  wounded  ;  but  he  was  rather  in- 
credulous, saying  that  Scott  came  into  the  fort  the  day 
before  I  was  wounded.  On  my  insisting  that  I  knew 
the  gun,  he  sent  a  squad  of  cavalry  to  Scott's  cabin  to 
ascertain  the  facts.  When  they  reached  the  place  they 
found  the  remains  of  Mr.  Scott  terribly  mutilated  by 
knives.  A  Mexican  boy  who  had  been  living  with  him 
was  found  badly  wounded,  but  still  alive.  The  boy 
was  brought  to  the  fort,  as  also  were  the  remains  of 
Mr.  Scott.  The  boy  had  his  leg  amputated,  and  recov- 
ered. My  wounds  were  getting  very  troublesome,  and 
Colonel  Lends  advised  me  to  allow  his  surgeon  to  ex- 
tract the  shot,  to  which  I  consented.  That  surgeon 
would  have  made  a  much  better  butcher  than  surgeon, 
however.    He  insisted  on  my  taking  chloroform,  but  I 


320  A   SURGICAL   OPERATION. 

refused  on  account  of  tlie  wound  in  my  breast  injuring 
my  lungs,  and  I  preferred  to   bear  the  pain  to  run- 
ning the  risk  of  taking  chloroform.     I  was  placed  on 
a  board,  with  my  face  down,  four  men  holding  me, 
and  with  an  ounce  ball  between  my  teeth.     The  sur- 
geon commenced  by  splitting  my  leg  in  the  calf  some 
live  or    six   inches,    and   then  with   his    instrument 
searched  for  buckshot  in  all  directions.     He  succeeded 
in  extracting  four,  when  I  told  him  I  could  stand  it  no 
longer.     In  the  operation  I  lost  much  blood,  which,  in 
addition  to  what  I  had  lost  before,  reduced  me  so  much 
that  for  several  days  I  was  almost  insensible.     When  I 
revived  I  found  an  old  Mexican  woman  standing  by  my 
bed,  who  informed  me  that  a  priest  had  called  to  see 
me,  but  I  had  no  recollection  of  it.     She  was  like  a 
mother  to  me,  and  by  her  kind  care  I  consider  my  life 
was  saved.     When  nearly  recovered,  the  old  lady  was 
dressing  my  limb  one  day,  and,  in  taking  off  the  band- 
age, the  other  two  buckshot  dropped  on  the  floor.    My 
recovery  was  then  a  sure  thing,  and  I  felt  much  en- 
couraged. 

An  attack  was  made  in  the  night  on  the  fort  soon 
after,  and  most  of  the  animals  stolen  by  a  party  of 
Apaches.  They  were  pursued  to  their  Indian  village, 
and  the  property  was  recovered,  after  killing  several  of 
the  Indians ;  and  several  women  and  children  were 
captured  and  brought  to  the  fort.  Among  them  were 
two  boys,  about  eight  years  old,  which  Major  Vail 
took  under  his  charge  to  care  for.  The  Major  had  two 
children  of  his  own,  about  the  same  age,  and  these  four 
children  were  in  the  habit  of  playing  together  about 
the  fort.  They  were  all  playing,  one  afternoon,  by  a 
creek  near  by,  and  as  they  did  not  return  at  their  usual 
time,   search  was  made  for  them.     About  dark  the 


APACHE  CRUELTY.  321 

searching  party  were  horrified  by  finding  the  body  of 
the  Major's  little  boy,  who  was  about  seven  years  old, 
terribly  mutilated,  his  head  being  completely  mashed 
by  stones.  Near  the  dead  boy  they  found  his  little 
sister,  who  was  nearly  dead,  having  also  received  ter- 
rible blows  on  the  head.  This  was  the  work  of  the  two> 
Apache  vipers,  who  had  fled  for  their  village,  fifty 
miles  away,  among  the  mountains.  The  Major  sent  a 
party  in  pursuit  the  next  morning,  and  the  boys  were 
overhauled  after  two  daj's'  tracking.  They  were  found 
under  an  oak  tree  eating  acorns,  and  when  they  saAV 
the  soldiers  in  pursuit,  they  attempted  to  escape,  but 
were  overtaken  and  hung  up  to  a  limb  of  the  tree. 
The  other  captive  Indian  children  and  women  escaped 
the  same  night  that  the  children  were  discovered  mur- 
dered. One  young  squaw  nearly  killed  one  of  the 
soldiers  that  attempted  to  hinder  her  from  escaping. 
They  were  pursued,  but  never  caught.  In  all  my  ac- 
quaintance with  Indians,  I  never  found  a  tribe  so  mean, 
so  contemptibly  thievish,  and  so  murderous  and  treach- 
erous, as  the  Apaches  ;  and  the  sooiler  the  government 
exterminates  them  entirel}',  instead  of  trying  to  con- 
ciliate them  with  presents,  the  better.  They  are  differ- 
ent from  the  Comanches  or  any  other  tribe  I  know  of, 
as  no  day  passes  without  some  murder  or  robbery  being 
committed  by  them. 

Arizona  territory  has  many  gold  and  silver  mines. 
Tlie  Indians  have  sometimes  used  these  metals  for 
making  bullets,  before  they  knew  the  worth  of  coin.  I 
was  an  eye  witness  when  the  same  surgeon  who  oj^er- 
ated  on  me  cut  a  gold  bulh^t  from  a  INIt^xican,  wlio  liad 
been  shot  with  it  by  an  Apache.  The  bullet  weighed 
half  an  ounce. 

A  short  time  after  the  murder  of  Major  Tail's  chil- 


322  UNSUCCESSFUL    GOLD  HUNTING. 

dren,  a  Mexican  woman  made   her  escape  from  the 
Apaches.     She  had  been  a  prisoner  among  them  four- 
teen years,  and  she  reported    that    there  were    large 
quantities  of  gold  in  the  mountains  where  the  Apaches 
lived.     She  showed  some  specimens  of  gold  which  she 
brought,  weighing  from  one  to  three  ounces.     Some 
persons  then  employed  her  as  a  guide  to  these  moun- 
tains.    She  told  them  it  was  a  dangerous  expedition,  as 
the  Apaches  were  a  much  stronger  tribe  than  they  were 
aware  of.     A  large  party  of  about  six  hundred  were 
gathered,  however,  from  the  vicinity  of  the  fort  to  go 
gold  hunting,  and  this  woman  accompanied  them  as 
guide.     After  several  days'  travel,  as  they  were  pro- 
ceeding through  a  narrow  pass,  she  and  six  soldiers 
were  shot  dead  by  the  Apaches,  who  were  concealed 
among  the  rocks.     The  Indians  showed  themselves  then 
in  such  great  numbers  that  the  party  of  gold  seekers 
were  compelled  to  retreat  and  leave  their  dead.     They 
returned  to  Tubac  and  reported  that  the  Indians  v/ere 
so  numerous  that  it  was  impossible  to  proceed  to  the 
mountains.     There  was  an  understanding  between  the 
Governor  of  Sonora  and  the  commander  of  the  United 
States  forces  at  these  Arizona  forts,  to  work  in  harmony 
whenever  the  Apaches  made  a  combined  attack  either 
on  the  Sonora  side  or  the  Arizona  side,  as  by  union 
they  could  better  repel  the  Indians. 

Soon  after  the  return  of  the  gold  seekers,  a  body  of 
Apaches  made  their  appearance  in  Sonoi*a,  committing 
many  depredations  and  capturing  women  and  childi-en. 
The  Governor  of  Sonora  sent  dispatches  to  the  com- 
mander of  the  United  States  troops  in  Arizona,  appeal- 
ing to  him  for  aid,  and  troops  were  sent  to  his  assistance 
immediately.  As  the  Sonora  troops  were  advancing  from 
the  west,  and  ours  proceeding  to  meet  them,  the  In- 


APACHE  TREACHEKY.  523 

dians  were  cauglit  between  tlie  two  parties,  and  about 
eighty  of  them  were  killed  and  a  number  taken  prison- 
ers, among  tliem  a  brother  of  the  Apache  chief,  named 
Cachese.  A  dozen  or  more  Mexican  women  and  chil- 
dren that  the  Indians  had  in  captivity  were  released. 
Cachese  and  the  other  Indians  it  was  decided  to  hang 
at  once.  Cachese  was  singing  just  before  we  hung 
him,  when  he  stopped,  and  cried  out  in  Spanish : 
"  Why  do  you  not  take  a  knife  or  a  lance  and  kill  us 
like  men  and  not  hang  us  like  dogs."  Cachese  was  the 
last  man  hung,  and  when  they  Avere  ready  to  place  the 
rope  about  his  neck,  he  caught  the  man  who  was  ad- 
justing the  rope,  with  his  teeth,  tearing  off  part  of  his 
sleeve,  when  he  was  struck  on  the  head  by  a  soldier 
and  rendered  senseless,  and  was  immediately  hung. 

One  Indian  boy,  captured  with  them,  was  saved  by 
the  interference  of  Lieutenant  AVilliams.  He  took  him 
to  Apache  Pass  in  Arizona,  where  he  kept  him  some 
four  or  five  months.  The  lieutenant  gave  him  a  gun 
and  ammunition  as  he  was  in  the  habit  of  going  out  to 
hunt  deer,  &c.,  and  furnishing  the  lieutenant  with  game. 
One  day  the  lieutenant  rode  a  fine  saddle  mule  out  to  a 
spring  about  two  miles  from  the  fort,  as  was  his  usual 
custom,  for  exercise.  This  young  Apache  was  con- 
cealed behind  a  tree  about  twenty  steps  from  the  road, 
and  attempted  to  shoot  the  lieutenant  as  he  passed, 
but  the  gun  missed  fire.  Lieutenant  AYilliams  rushed 
up  to  the  Indian,  and,  drawing  his  pistol,  forced  the 
young  scapegrace  to  surrender  the  gun.  He  plead 
for  his  life,  and  the  lieutenant  bound  his  hands  with  a 
rope,  and  made  him  walk  ahead  of  him  to  the  fort. 
"Williams  was  very  angry,  and  yet  very  curious  to 
know  the  object  of  the  Indian  boy  in  trying  to  kill 
him,  w^ho  had  been  his  benefactor  ;  but  when  he  found 


334  FATE   OF   AN   EMIGRANT  TRAIN. 

that  lie  had  no  motive  at  all,  he  strung  him  up  to  a 
post  in  a  hurry,  saying  that  was  the  last  Indian  he 
would  ever  place  any  conhdence  in. 

About  this  time,  an  emigrant  train  on  its  way  from 
Texas  through  this  section,  had  arrived  at  a  place 
called  Tulare  Flats,  when  they  were  attacked  by 
Apache  Indians,  who  laid  in  ambush  on  each  side  of 
the  road,  each  Indian  being  disguised  by  having  a  sage 
bush  tied  to  his  head.  This  emigrant  train  numbered 
about  fifty,  men,  women,  and  children.  The  Indians 
kept  quiet  till  the  train  had  arrived  abreast  of  them, 
when  they  all  arose  at  once,  and  with  tremendous  yells 
frightened  the  teams  so  that  they  soon  ran  in  the 
greatest  panic.  They  fired  into  the  whites,  killing  all 
the  men  but  two,  who  made  their  escape  to  Tueson. 
The  officers  at  the  fort  at  Tueson  sent  a  party  in  pur- 
suit of  the  Indians,  who,  on  arriving  at  the  place  at 
which  the  train  had  been  surprised,  witnessed  a  horrid 
spectacle.  Men,  women,  and  children,  most  of  whom 
were  scalped,  lay  there  with  their  brains  beaten  out ; 
and  about  them  were  the  remnants  of  their  wasrons, 
which  had  been  burned.  One  woman,  Mrs.  Mary 
Holliday,  was  found  still  alive  with  six  arrows  stick- 
ing in  her  breast,  and  near  her  were  the  dead  bodies  of 
her  two  children.  She  was  unable  to  speak,  and  her 
signs  were  scarcely  intelligible.  Wagons  were  sent  to 
take  this  unfortunate  woman,  the  bodies  of  those  who 
were  killed,  and  what  remained  of  their  effects,  to  the 
fort,  where  the  dead  received  proper  burial.  Mrs. 
Holliday  lived  but  a  short  time  after  her  arrival  at  the 
fort.  Near  the  scene  of  the  fight  the  bodies  of  five 
Apache  Indians  were  found,  secreted  in  the  brush. 
The  two  men  who  escaped  gave  us  an  account  of  the 
fight,  and  reported  that  four  girls  were  missing  from 


AN   ESCAPE   FR05I   APACHES.  32.') 

the  party  and  could  not  be  found,  and  we  concluded 
the  Indians  had  run  them  off  into  captivity. 

Some  two  months  after  this,  one  of  the  girls  made 
her  appearance  at  Fort  Buchanan,  when  she  reported 
that  two  of  the  girls  were  dead,  from  the  vi(jlence  and 
outrage  of  the  Indians,  and,  so  far  as  she  knew,  the 
other  one  was  still  living  among  them.  This  unfortu- 
nate girl  was  named  Enmia  Brown,  and  she  was  in  a 
pitiable  condition  when  she  came  to  Fort  Buchanan  ; 
barefoot,  and  nearly  destitute  of  clothing.  She  gave 
the  following  account  of  her  escape  from  her  savage 
captors:  Two  d'dys,  before,  while  on  the  hills  with  a 
band  of  the  Indians,  she  saw  Fort  Buchanan  in  the 
distance,  and  resolved  to  make  a  desperate  attemjit  to 
reach  it,  A  favorable  ojiportunity  soon  occurred.  The 
chief  who  had  her  in  charge  had  just  returned  from  a 
thieving  raid  of  several  dajs,  and  was  very  much  ex- 
hausted. The  whole  band,  feeling  perfectly  safe,  had 
fallen  asleep  ;  and  th(^  chief,  reclining  with  his  Invad  in 
her  lap,  was  soon  in  a  sound  sleep.  Carefully  freeing 
herself  from  the  savage,  she  cast  a  hurried  glance 
around  her,  and  seeing  the  way  clear,  started  on  her 
perilous  journey  for  the  fort  she  had  seen  in  the  morn- 
ing, determined  to  reach  it  or  perish  in  the  attempt,  as 
she  f(>lt  death  to  be  far  preferable  to  the  life  she  had  led 
for  the  ]iast  two  months.  She  took  the  direction  of  the 
fort  and  traveled  all  night  in  the  mountains.  In  the 
morning  she  discovennl  below  her,  a  party  of  the  Indi- 
ans, following  her.  She  was  at  this  time  following  an 
Indian  trail,  where  she  had  been  before,  but  immediate- 
ly stepped  to  one  side,  and  secret<^d  herself  among  t^onie 
rocks.  The  Indians  passt^d  within  a  short  distance  of 
her,  for  she  could  distinguish  their  voices  easily.  They 
did  not  look  for  her  trail,  as  they  seemed  to  take  it  for 


326  FEAES   OF  EECAPTUEE. 

granted  she  would  follow  the  Indian  trail  she  was  in, 
and  they  hurried  on  in  the  direction  she  had  been 
going.  More  than  once,  as  they  filed  past  her,  she 
gave  herself  up  for  lost,  for  to  her  excited  mind  it 
would  seem  that  one  had  left  the  party  and  was  ap- 
proaching her  hiding  place ;  and  she  felt  that  if  she 
was  discovered  it  would  be  certain  death,  and  very 
likely  by  a  slow  torture.  A  few  days  before,  death 
would  have  been  welcome ;  but  now,  when  she  had 
escaped  from  her  captors,  life  seemed  very  precious 
to  her. 

As  soon  as  the  Indians  passed  her,  she  started  up 
the  mountain,  out  of  their  route,  and  secreted  herself 
among  some  rocks  which  overlooked  her  former  hiding 
place.  Here  she  dreaded  an  encounter  with  some  wild 
beast,  for  the  place  was  wild  and  rough  ;  but  she  pre- 
ferred death  in  that  form  rather  than  recapture.  In  a 
short  time  she  discovered  the  Indians  (about  fifteen  in 
number)  returning.  Coming  to  the  place  in  the  trail 
where  she  had  left  it,  they  dismounted  from  their 
horses  and  searched  in  all  directions,  and  in  doing  so, 
passed  around  the  rocks  where  she  had  first  secreted 
herself.  ,  From  here  she  had  been  very  careful  to  walk 
on  stones  or  rocks  to  her  present  hiding  place,  and 
they  were  unable  to  track  her.  She  remained  in  her 
hiding  place  until  the  Indians  had  left,  and  gone  back 
to  their  camp  ;  then  with  desperate  energy  she  resumed 
her  flight  towards  the  fort,  where  she  arrived  utterly 
exhausted,  as  she  had  been  two  days  on  her  weary 
march  without  food  or  sleep.  Her  feet  were  bound  up 
with  pieces  of  the  last  skirt  she  had,  for  the  Indians 
had  kept  her  barefooted  for  fear  she  might  escape. 
Her  clothing  consisted  simply  of  a  chemise,  well  worn 
and  ragged  from  contact  with  the  brush  as  she  passed 


KINDNESS   OF    OFFICERS.  327 

along.  Ilor  way  to  tlie  fort  liacl  been  through  a  coun- 
try abounding  in  small  scrubby  prickly  pear  bushes, 
wliicli  had  destroyed  her  clotliing,  and  her  feet  were 
so  tilled  witli  the  thorns  that  it  was  some  da^'s  before 
they  were  all  removed. 

She  was  taken  in  charge  hy  the  wife  of  Major  Wells, 
at  the  fort,  and  was  conlined  to  her  bed,  in  care  of  the 
physicians,  more  than  a  month  before  she  recovered. 
During  this  time  she  was  often  delirious,  shrieking  in 
lier  agony  :  "  Tliey  liav(^  killed  my  tiither,  and  mother, 
and  two  sisters  ;  don't  let  them  kill  me." 

It  was  true  that  her  parents  and  sisters  were  killed  in 
the  massacre,  and  she  was  left  alone  in  the  world. 
When  she  had  regained  her  health,  she  was  sent  by 
the  officers  at  the  fort,  wdio  supplied  her  with  clothing 
and  money,  to  San  Francisco,  and  from  thence  to  Gal- 
veston, Texas,  where  she  had  an  uncle,  the  only  rela- 
tive she  had  living. 

This  kindness  of  these  United  States  officers  is  only 
one  instance  among  many  that  have  come  under  my 
observation  in  the  western  country,  and  at  the  frontier 
outposts.  They  invariably  treated  the  poor  captives 
that  were  wrested  and  saved  from  the  hands  of  Indi- 
ans, with  the  greatest  kindness,  whether  they  were 
Mexicans  or  Americans,  and  sux>plied  them  with  funds 
and  clothing,  medical  attendance,  and  every  thing, 
free  gratis,  jieve?'  asA'hiff  or  acccjiting  any  renuniera- 
tion  ;  and  I  believe  their  generosit}^  to  the  unfortunate 
is  not  generally  known,  but  it  is  worthy  of  being 
known  throughout  the  world,  for  it  is  unparalleled, 
and  beyond  all  praise. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

A  FEW  weeks  after  the  events  narrated  at  the  close 
of  the  last  chapter,  a  large  party  of  Apaches  ap- 
peared in  the  state  of  Sonora,  committing  all  man- 
ner of  depredations,  and  were  pnrsued  by  the  Mexi- 
cans into  their  own  country.  Tliere  they  had  an  en- 
gagement, and  most  of  the  stock  that  had  been  stolen 
was  recovered,  and  about  eighty  Indians  killed.  A 
small  party  of  Mexican  women  and  children  that  had 
been  taken  from  Sonora  by  the  Apaches,  escaped  by 
their  shrewdness ;  for  during  the  fight  they  secreted 
themselves  in  the  brush,  and  as  the  Indians  ran,  they 
remained  concealed  till  the  Mexicans  were  close  upon 
them. 

Among  the  prisoners  released  was  Miss  Holliday, 
who  was  captured  by  the  Indians  at  the  same  time  as 
Emma  Brown,  at  the  massacre  of  the  emigrants,  an 
account  of  which  has  been  given.  She  was  a  daughter 
of  the  woman  found  by  the  soldiers  who  went  to  the 
relief  of  the  train.  Governor  Pesquiera,  of  Sonora, 
sent  word  to  the  fort  to  notify  the  officers  of  her  escape, 
and  to  inform  them  that  she  was  under  his  protection. 
The  officers  made  up  a  purse  for  her  relief,  and  sent  it 
to  her  by  a  messenger,  and  instructed  him  to  ascertain 
from  her  whether  she  wished  to  return  to  Texas.  She 
returned  the  money  to  the  officers,  by  the  messenger, 
with  many  thanks  for  their  kind  offer  and  sj'mpathy, 
and  added  that  as  her  relatives  were  all  dead,  having 
been  killed  by  the  Indians,  she  had  no  home  to  go  to, 


MEXICAN   DEPRAVITY.  329 

but  as  Genearal  Alcontra,  the  commander  of  the  Sono- 
ra  troops,  had  saved  her  life  and  requested  Iut  liaiid 
in  marriage,  she  had  accepted  his  kind  offer  and  would 
soon  go  to  housekeeping.  This  woman  is  now  living 
happily  in  Ures,  the  capital  of  Sonora  ;  and  the  last  I 
heard  of  lier  she  had  three  children,  and  was  wealthy. 

My  wounds  were  now  so  far  healed  that  I  was  al)le 
to  walk  about  some  ;  still,  I  suffered  much  from  some 
undiscovered  difficulty  in  the  limb.  I  proceeded  to 
Tueson  for  a  cliange  of  medical  treatment,  and  placed 
myself  under  the  care  of  a  noted  surgeon  named  Lord, 
who  appeared  to  understand  my  troubles.  My  leg 
continued  badly  swollen,  and  I  was  taken  with  chills 
and  fever,  when  Doctor  Lord  informed  me  that  I  must 
leave  that  j^art  of  the  country  or  lose  my  life.  It  so 
happened  tliat  a  government  train  was  at  Tueson, 
bound  for  Los  Angeles,  California,  and  I  received  per- 
mission to  accompany  it.  I  was  placed  under  the  care 
of  the  chief  wagonmaster,  whose  name  was  Caton, 
The  day  I  left  Tueson  I  had  my  horse,  saddle,  and 
bridle  brought  around  and  put  in  care  of  the  wagon- 
master,  for  I  was  not  able  to  ride  him,  but  was  placed 
in  a  wagon,  on  a  cot  hung  by  the  four  corners. 

Soon  after  leaving  Tueson  I  saw  a  poor  ISfexican 
w^alking  along  beside  the  wagon,  carrjdng  his  blankets 
on  his  back.  I  called  him  to  me,  and  on  inquiry  found 
he  was  going  to  California.  This  I  thought  an  excel- 
lent opportunity  to  make  an  arrangment  that  would  be 
to  our  mutual  advantage.  So  I  told  him  I  was  in  need 
of  a  man  to  wait  upon  me  somewhat,  during  the  jour- 
ney, and  if  he  would  do  so,  he  could  put  his  blankets 
in  my  wagon  and  ride  my  horse ;  and  if  this  was  not 
an  equivalent  for  his  services,  I  would  pay  him  what 
was  right.     He  seemed  very  much  pleased  with  this. 


330  NATIIAX   MARTIX. 

and  I  ordered  my  horse  turned  over  to  Mm  for  liis  use. 
Alas,  for  the  depravity  of  Mexican  nature !  Since  I 
saw  him  mount  my  liorse,  when  turned  over  to  him  I 
have  never  beheld  him,  nor  received  the  services  to  be 
rendered  ;  the  only  equivalent  for  the  horse  and  trap- 
ping being  a  badly  worn  blanket  he  put  in  my  wagon. 

One  month  and  nine  days  after  we  started  from  Tue- 
son  I  arrived  in  Los  Angeles,  California,  and  soon 
found  a  good  surgeon,  to  whom  I  stated  my  case,  and 
placed  myself  under  his.  care.  On  the  way,  I  had 
been  failing  in  health,  and  the  journey  had  made  my 
limb  much  worse,  and  it  was  now  in  a  state  of  high  in- 
flammation. He  examined  my  limb,  and  said  a  portion 
of  my  shin  bone  w^as  broken,  or  slivered  off  by  the 
shot,  which  accounted  for  its  not  healing,  and  that  it 
should  be  extracted.  He  performed  the  operation,  and 
took  out  a  piece  of  bone  some  three  inches  long  and  of 
very  irregular  shape.  I  suffered  much  during  the  op- 
eration, but  under  his  subsequent  judicious  treatment 
the  swelling  was  reduced  and  the  mflammation  cured, 
and  I  immediately  began  to  improve  in  my  general 
health.  It  was  some  time  before  I  could  walk,  however, 
and  by  that  time  the  physician' s  bill,  with  my  expenses 
for  board  and  attendance,  had  made  sad  inroads  into 
the  money  I  had  on  my  arrival  at  Los  Angeles. 

I  here  met,  one  day  on  the  street,  N'athan  Martin, 
whose  life  I  had  saved  when  he  was  captured  by  the 
Comanche  Indians.  I  had  not  seen  him  since  he  left 
with  the  Indians  for  Mexico,  thirty-one  years  before,  and 
had  supposed  him  dead.  He  informed  me  of  the  par- 
ticulars of  his  escape,  and  invited  me  to  go  to  his 
house,  for  he  resided  in  El  Monte,  a  few  miles  distant. 
I  accepted  his  invitation  and  had  an  agreeable  visit. 

I  also  met  here  a  cousin  of  mine,  Alexander  Hobbs, 


MOKMOIN-  OUTRAGES.  331 

who  informed  me  of  the  assasshiation  of  m}'  uncle  and 
his  family,  in  the  Green  Meadow  massacre,  by  the 
Mormons,  in  Utah  Territory.  He  said  it  was  his  de- 
termination to  kill  every  Monnon  he  came  in  contact 
with,  when  lie  had  an  opportunity,  in  revenge  for  tlui 
murder  of  our  uncle  and  his  family.  He  also  informed 
me  that  Brigham  Young  was  now  riding  in  the  same 
carriage  in  which  my  uncle's  family  were  at  the  tinui 
of  the  massacre.  When  I  heard  him  say  that^  my 
blood  boiled,  for  I  could  not  bear  the  thought  of  old 
Brigham  converting  my  uncle's  fine  family  carriage 
into  a  Mormon  turnout  for  the  transportation  of  the  old 
beast  and  his  concubines. 

At  this  time  Mormons  were  in  the  habit  of  coming 
into  Los  Angeles  with  long  trains  of  wagons,  every 
spring,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  supplies.  There 
was  at  this  time  one  of  their  trains,  of  about  one  hun- 
dred wagons,  in  town,  nearly  ready  to  leave  for  Salt 
Lake.  It  was  discovered  that  they  had  a  number  of 
mules,  which  they  had  j)i'obably  stolen  from  the  gov- 
ernment, which  had  been  branded  U.  S.  ;  but  the 
marks  had  been  obliterated  by  burning  over  the  place 
with  a  hot  iron.  In  consequence  of  this,  the  United 
States  officers  took  some  two  hundred  of  their  mules 
from  them,  confiscating  them  as  government  property, 
which  the  Mormons  strongly  protested  against,  but 
they  could  not  prove  any  title  to  the  mules.  Tlieir 
train  then  h^ft  for  Salt  Lake,  b}'  the  way  of  Fort 
Goodwin.  Nine  of  the  Mormons  did  not  accompany 
the  train.  They  remained  in  Los  Angeles  some  two 
weeks,  and  during  that  time  succeedtnl  in  stealing 
eighty-five  mules  from  a  Mr.  Towns,  who  was  a  stage 
contractor  on  the  Overland  Route. 

The  same  day  the  Mormons  left  with  the  mules, 
22 


332  EXECUTioisr  of  mormon  thieves. 

word  was  sent  to  a  vigilance  committee  at  El  Monte, 
about  twelve  miles  distant,  on  the  road  to  Salt  Lake. 
We  raised  about  tliirty  men  and  started  in  pursuit  of 
the  villains.  I  soon  struck  their  trail,  and  we  followed 
it  to  the  mountains,  and  soon  found  that  we  were  close 
upon  them,  as  their  dust  showed  plainly  as  they  as- 
cended the  road  over  the  mountain. 

Being  in  charge  of  the  party,  I  divided  it,  and  sent 
one-half  of  the  men,  under  the  lead  of  my  cousin, 
around  tlie  mountain  to  head  off  the  Mormons  as  they 
descended  the  opposite  side.  My  men  pursued  them 
to  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  began  the  descent,  over  a 
rough  road,  over  which  we  could  see  the  mules  were 
forced  with  some  difficulty  by  the  Mormons.  We 
kept  in  their  rear  till  they  had  reached  the  foot  of  the. 
hill,  where  my  cousin's  party  were  concealed,  when 
both  parties  attacked  them,  and  all  but  one  surrender- 
ed, and  he  in  trying  to  escape  was  shot,  and  his  horse 
killed  under  him,  both  falling  dead.  Those  who  sur- 
rendered begged  hard  for  their  lives  ;  but  there  was  no 
mercy  in  our  party  for  such  thieves,  and  my  cousin 
told  them  to  make  their  peace  with  God  in  a  liurry, 
and  think  of  Brigham  Young  for  the  last  time,  for  we 
had  no  time  to  waste  over  them.  We  hung  them  all 
on  the  trees  by  the  roadside,  and,  waiting  only  long 
enough  to  see  them  fairly  dead,  we  started  for  Los 
Angeles  to  return  the  mules  to  their  owner. 

On  returning  to  Los  Angeles  with  the  property,  the 
owner,  Mr.  Towns,  was  delighted  to  recover  the  ani- 
mals, and  paid  us  well  for  our  services.  Everybody 
was  anxious  to  know  what  we  did  with  the  Mormons, 
and  we  replied  that  they  would  hear  quickly  enough, 
from  the  Mormons  at  San  Bernardino,  a  town  near 
where  we  hung  them,  which  was  full  of  Mormon  in- 


DANGER   OF   SHOOTING   CUBS.  333 

habitants.  It  was  found  afterwards  that  they  were 
greatly  enraged  wlien  they  discovered  the  bodies  of 
their  friends  hanging  on  the  trees,  and  took  them  down 
and  buried  tlieni  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony. 

Being  now  fully  recovered  from  my  wounds,  I  caught 
the  pn'vailing  excitement  of  that  country  relative  to 
gold  digging,  and  went  with  two  men,  named  Brown 
and  Bennett,  to  the  Chain  Mountains  of  California 
prospecting.  We  had  with  us  our  pack  animals  and 
provisions.  These  mountains  abounded  with  game, 
bear  and  deer  being  plenty.  One  afternoon  I  had  been 
out  alone  prospecting  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  our 
camp,  and  as  I  was  returning  I  saw  two  small  grizzly 
bear  cubs.  I  looked  in  all  directions  to  see  if  the 
old  bear  was  around,  but  could  not  discover  her.  I 
then  concluded  to  shoot  one  of  the  cubs,  but  knowinor 
how  the  grizzly  will  resent  any  injury  to  its  young,  I 
looked  first  for  a  place  where  I  could  make  myself  se- 
cure in  case  of  danger.  I  shot  one  of  the  cubs  with 
my  rifle,  breaking  its  shoulder,  when  it  commenced  a 
great  outcry,  which  brought  the  old  one  to  its  assist- 
ance. I  was  not  long  in  climbing  a  high  rock  near  by, 
nor  in  discharging  my  revolver  at  her,  for  I  had  no 
load  in  my  rifle.  I  wounded  her  badly  with  my  six- 
shooter,  but  did  not  kill  her,  nor  disable  her  enough 
for  me  to  venture  down  from  the  rock,  so  I  remained 
there  all  night.  The  bear  made  several  attempts,  du- 
ring the  night,  to  reach  me,  but  b<Mng  w(\ak  fiom  her 
wounds  could  not  do  so.  When  it  was  light  enough 
to  see  the  animal  I  finished  her  with  another  shot,  and 
killed  the  remaining  cub,  its  mate  having  died  during 
the  night.  The  cubs  were  fat,  and  weighed  perhaps  a 
hundred  pounds  each,  but  the  old  bear  Avas  poor  and 
unfit  for  eating.     Bennett  and  Brown  hearing  the  firing 


334  AX   IMPORTAJSTT   DISCOVEEY. 

in  the  morning,  came  running  np  and  found  me  skin- 
ning one  of  the  cubs.  They  looked  on  in  amazement 
at  the  sight  of  the  three  bears,  and  said  they  had  heard 
the  firing  in  the  evening  and  had  been  very  anxious  on 
my  account.  We  finished  skinning  the  bears,  and  car- 
ried the  cubs  and  skins  to  our  camp.  I  had  a  good 
appetite  for  bear  meat  that  morning,  and  we  made  a 
capital  breakfast  from  one  of  the  cubs,  after  which  I 
told  my  companions  that  I  should  take  a  nap,  for  I  had 
stood  guard  all  night,  and  they  could  go  out  and  do 
the  prospecting  that  day. 

I  slept  till  three  o'  clock,  and  then  arose  and  cut  up 
my  meat  for  drying  and  curing.  My  friends  soon  re- 
turned, and  Brown  reported  that  he  had  discovered  a 
lead  mine.  He  showed  me  some  of  the  metal  and  ask- 
ed my  opinion  of  it.  I  tried  it  by  smelting  some  of  it 
in  my  ladle  for  running  bullets,  and  found  it  contained 
some  silver.  He  then  said  he  thought  our  fortune  was 
made.  We  went  together  and  examined  the  ledge, 
and  found  it  a  vein  of  lead  and  some  silver  intermixed. 
It  was  nearly  four  feet  wide  and  over  a  foot  thick,  and 
we  judged  that  it  ran  into  the  mountain  some  distance. 
I  told  Brown  that  we  had  better  have  the  property  re- 
corded in  our  names,  and  he  proceeded  at  once  to  Los 
Angeles,  sixty  miles  away,  for  that  purpose.  On  the 
fourth  day  he  returned  and  said  he  had  made  the 
record  for  us  jointly.  Mr.  Bennett  and  myself  sup- 
posed he  had  done  so,  as  our  agreement  at  the  outset 
was  to  share  our  discoveries  and  profits  equally. 

The  next  day  after  Mr.  Brown  returned  I  found  a 
prospect  of  gold,  in  the  head  of  what  is  called  St. 
Gabriel' s  canyon.  A  few  days  after  this,  Mr.  Bennett 
said  he  was  going  out  to  kill  a  deer  if  possible.  He 
started  away  about  three  o'clock,  and  in  an  hour  we 


AX   UXPLEASAISTT   NIGHT.  335 

heard  a  report  of  a  gun  a  sliort  distance  off.  I  told  Mr. 
Brown  that  our  friend  had  found  game  near  by,  and 
we  went  to  see  what  he  had  shot.  We  found  him  shot 
through  the  body,  the  ball  having  entered  near  the 
navel  and  come  out  at  the  small  of  the  back.  As  he 
was  still  alive,  he  gave  us  an  account  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  was  shot.  As  he  was  walking  through  tli(3 
brush,  on  the  lookout  for  game,  and  not  paying  atten- 
tion to  his  footmg,  he  stumbled  and  fell,  the  fall  caus- 
ing the  discharge  of  his  gun.  We  carried  him  to  camp, 
and  he  asked  me  what  I  thought  of  the  wound,  I  told 
him  he  must  prepare  himself  for  the  worst,  but  we 
would  do  all  in  our  power  for  his  comfort.  At  the 
same  time  I  sent  Brown  to  the  nearest  settlement  for 
medical  assistance  for  our  friend,  though  Bennett  said 
it  was  of  no  use  for  he  should  soon  die.  Brown  went 
after  a  physician  and  some  friends,  leaving  me  alone 
with  the  dying  man.  He  lived  about  an  hour  after 
Brown  left  us,  and  I  passed  a  miserable  night  alone  in 
those  dreary  mountain  wilds  with  the  body  of  my  dead 
friend.  There  I  sat  with  no  light,  save  the  flickering 
glare  of  a  fire  I  always  kept  burning  in  front  of  the 
cabin,  to  keep  away  the  wild  beasts.  It  seemed  as 
though  Brown  would  never  return,  and  it  was  the 
longest  night  I  ever  experienced.  I  have  passed  many 
nights  in  situations  that  would  not  be  called  desirable 
by  nervous  or  timid  people,  but  never  one  that  seemed 
so  awful  to  me  as  this  night  alone  with  death.  About 
daylight  Mr.  Brown,  with  several  persons  Lncluding  a 
doctor,  arrived  from  Qui  Qual  Mungo,  a  small  town 
about  twelve  miles  from  our  camp.  Finding  that  our 
friend  was  dead,  they  advised  that  he  be  taken  to  their 
village  and  properly  buried,  which  was  done  ;  and  the 
funeral  services  at  Qui  Qual  Mungo  were  attended  by 


336  MK.  Bennett's  effects. 

a  large  number  of  sympathizing  strangers.  Just  be- 
fore liis  death,  Mr.  Bennett  told  me  that  he  willed 
me  his  gun  and  two  pack  animals,  and  also  his 
interest  in  the  mine  which  we  owned  in  company.  He 
said  he  had  a  brother,  William,  living  in  San  Luis 
Obispo,  California,  to  whom  he  requested  me  to  write, 
and  inform  him  of  the  circumstances  and  manner  of 
his  death.  He  further  said  that  I  would  lind  in  his 
carpet-sack  about  one  hundred  dollars,  which  he  wish- 
ed me  to  use  as  far  as  necessary  in  defraying  the  expen- 
ses of  his  burial.  He  attempted  to  tell  me  something 
about  a  check,  but  he  was  so  weak  that  he  could  not  make 
himself  understood.  With  the  money  found  among 
his  effects  I  paid  his  funeral  expenses.  I  offered  to  pay 
those  who  had  assisted  us  in  removing  him  from  ouf 
camp  to  the  village,  &c.,  but  they  refused  any  compen- 
sation. 

After  our  partner's  death  our  camp  was  so  lonely 
that  we  concluded  to  go  to  Los  Angeles,  taking  with 
us  all  our  effects,  and  those  of  our  deceased  friend. 
On  our  way  Mr.  Brown  said  he  was  aware  that  Mr. 
Bennett  had  some  money  over  and  above  the  expense^ 
of  burial,  &c.,  and  wanted  to  know  what  disposition  I 
was  going  to  make  of  the  property,  urging  that  it  be 
divided  between  us;  for,  said  he,  "his  brother  never 
need  know  of  it,  and  'dead  men  tell  no  tales.'  " 

I  told  Brown  I  was  not  in  tlie  habit  of  doing  busi- 
ness that  way  ;  and  stated  that  v/hat  was  left  would  go 
to  Mr.  Bennett's  brother  at  San  Luis  Obispo,  for  I  liad 
written  to  him  and  expected  he  would  meet  us  at  Los 
Angeles.  On  our  arrival  at  Los  Angeles  I  received 
a  letter  from  Mr.  William  Bennett,  in  answer  to  one  I 
had  sent  him,  informing  me  that  he  would  soon  arrive 
at  Los  Angeles,  and  perhaps  by  the  next  stage. 


DISHONESTY    OF   BKOWN.  337 

At  the  liotcl  where  we  stopped  I  asked  Brown  to 
show  me  the  record,  or  certihcate  of  record,  of  our 
lead  and  silver  mine,  that  we  had  been  assured  by  liirii 
was  recorded  in  the  office  at  this  place  in  favor  of  all 
three  of  our  party.  He  replied  that  it  was  anion<^  his 
papers,  and  tliat  he  would  show  it  at  some  other  time. 
I  then  became  susj^icious  that  he  was  not  a  trustworthy 
man,  and  proceeded  to  the  miner's  recording  office  to 
make  inquiries  respecting  the  matter,  and  found  tliat 
Mr.  Brown  was  in  the  employ  of  a  New  York  compa- 
ny, and  had  secured  the  mine  in  the  name  of  the 
company  and  himself,  leaving  myself  and  Mr.  Bennett 
out  altogether.  I  then  returned  to  the  hotel  and  told 
Mr.  Brown  I  wished  him  to  get  his  paj^ers  and  sliow 
me  my  own  and  Mr.  Bennett's  interest  in  the  mine. 
He  said  he  would  before  he  went  to  bed.  He  then  left 
the  hotel  and  did  not  return  till  cj^uite  late, — after  I 
had  retired. 

Early  in  the  morning  a  servant  came  to  my  room 
and  told  me  a  gentleman  wished  to  see  me  down  stairs. 
On  going  down  I  met  Mr.  Bennett's  brother,  who  said 
he  had  come  to  Los  Angeles  in  rej)ly  to  my  kind  mes- 
sage, and  wished  me  to  relate  all  the  particulars  of  his 
brother's  death,  &c.  I  then  gave  him,  in  detail,  all 
the  facts,  narrating  our  experience  in  the  mountains, 
and  the  unfortunate  accident  that  had  broken  up  our 
party  and  deprived  his  brother  of  life.  I  took  him  to 
my  room  and  showed  him  his  brotlier's  clothing, 
money,  pocket  book,  papers,  letters,  &c.,  and  also  told 
him  his  brother  left  one  hundred  dollars,  and  I  had  it 
ready  to  give  him,  excepting  tlie  amount  I  expended 
in  his  burial.  I  also  told  him  that  his  brother  liad 
verbally  willed  me  his  interest  in  the  mine,  his  gun, 
his  two  pack  mules,  and  tlie  remainder  of  the  money, 


338  AN   AFFRAY   WITH   MR.    BROWN. 

after  deducting  expenses  ;  but  tliat  lie  was  so  near  liis 
end  when  he  did  so  that  I  had  no  writing  to  that  effect, 
and  should  claim  nothing  ;  the  property  was  all  at  his 
disposal.  He  told  me  my  conduct  in  the  matter  had 
been  such  that  he  was  satisfied  I  was  honest,  and  he 
had  no  doubt  the  facts  were  as  I  stated :  that  he  did 
not  wish  the  money,  and  requested  me  to  keep  it  and 
also  the  pack  mules.  In  looking  over  his  papers  he 
found  a  check  for  five  hundred  dollars  on  Wells,  Fargo 
&  Co.,  of  San  Francisco,  which  explained  what  Mr. 
Bennett  attempted  to  tell  me  of  a  check  just  before  his 
death.  He  retained  the  check,  papers,  and  clothing, 
and  thanked  me  heartily  for  the  kindness  I  had  shown 
his  brother.  I  told  him  of  the  rascality  of  Mr.  Brown 
in  regard  to  our  mining  affairs. 

After  we  had  finished  our  breakfast  Mr.  Brown  came 
in,  and  I  informed  him  that  as  soon  as  he  had  eaten 
his  breakfast  I  wished  to  talk  with  him,  I  kept  a 
sharp  lookout  for  him,  and  finally  saw  him  attempt  to 
leave  by  an  opposite  door.  I  called  to  him,  when  he 
came  and  took  a  seat  with  Mr,  Bennett  and  myself.  I 
then  told  him  I  considered  him  anything  but  a  gentle- 
man. He  asked  me  what  induced  me  to  say  so.  I 
told  him  I  had  been  to  the  miner's  recording  ofl[ice,  and 
from  what  I  had  learned  there  I  considered  him  a 

d d  rascal.     At  this  he  started  from  his  seat  and 

seized  a  knife  which  he  carried  concealed  in  his  breast 
pocket,  and  I  pulled  out  my  six-shooter,  with  which  I 
struck  him  on  the  head  and  knocked  him  down,  the 
blow  causing  the  discharge  of  one  of  the  chambers, 
carrying  a  ball  through  a  large  mirror  behind  the  bar, 
sliivering  it  to  atoms.  I  then  gave  him  several  kicks, 
when  I  was  seized  by  Mr.  Bennett  and  the  barkeeper, 
and  my  pistol  taken  from  me.     In  striking  him  I  cut  a 


PUBLIC   OPINION   IN   MY   FAVOR.  339 

large  gasli  over  Lis  right  eye,  the  mark  of  which  he 
will  carry  to  his  grave, 

I  was  then  inquired  of  by  the  barkeeper  and  several 
others  as  to  the  trouble  between  us,  when  I  inft)rnied 
them  it  was  a  private  matter,  of  no  consequence  to 
anyone  but  ourselves,  but  that  Brown  deserved  severe 
punishment.  The  barkeeper  said  the  glass  cost  him 
forty  dollars,  which  amount  I  at  once  gave  him.  Mr. 
Brown  and  myself  were  then  taken  before  the  authori- 
ties and  tried,  which  resulted  in  fining  me  ten  dollars 
for  using  an  unlawful  weapon,  and  in  fining  Mr.  Brown 
forty  dollars,  as  he  drew  his  wi^apon  first  and  com- 
menced the  afi'ray.  Mr.  Bennett  paid  my  fiiie,  and 
after  the  bystanders  and  the  guests  of  the  hotel  had 
been  informed  of  the  facts  of  the  case  they  fully  justi- 
fied my  course,  and  said  if  they  had  known  he  was  such 
a  knave,  they  would  not  have  interfered  to  save  him. 
Brown  got  his  wound  sewx^d  up,  and  soon  left  town  in 
disgrace,  for  the  news  had  spread  all  over  the  city. 

Mr.  Bennett  returned  to  San  Luis  Obispo,  and  I  re- 
mained abon^  a,  month  at  Los  Angeles. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

ABOUT  the  year  1868,  there  was  a  great  excitement 
ill  regard  to  the  Owen' s  river  mines,  in  Inyo  Dis- 
trict, California.  I  packed  my  mules  with  provisions, 
a  pick  and  shovel,  with  pans  and  other  outfit,  and 
started  for  Owen's  river,  in  company  with  a  train  of 
wagons  bound  for  the  same  destination.  The  owner  of 
the  train  was  a  French  Canadian,  by  the  name  of 
Nadieu.  The  wagons  were  loaded  with  provisions  and 
supplies  for  miners  at  Cerro  Gordo.  We  arrived  at 
Owen's  river,  which  I  found  a  hard  countrj^,  tv/enty- 
two  days  after  leaving  Los  Angeles.  AVe  stojoped  at  a 
place  called  Lone  Pine,  some  eighteen  miles  from  the 
Cerro  Gordo  mines.  As  this  was  a  very  elevated  coun- 
try, the  snow  was  so  deep  the  wagons  could  not  ascend 
the  mountains.  The  provisions  were  carried  up  the 
mountain  on  pack  mules,  and  with  my  mules  I  accom- 
panied them.  On  my  arrival  at  the  Cerro  Gordo  mines 
I  saw  no  way  of  feeding  my  mules,  and,  therefore,  sold 
them  to  Mr.  ISTadieu.  I  then  dug  out  a  large  hole  in 
the  bank,  and  fixed  up  a  rude  habitation.  Here  I  be- 
came acquainted  with  a  number  of  Mexicans,  one  of 
whom  had  discovered  the  mines  in  this  vicinity.  These 
mines  were  discovered  in  the  following  manner:  A 
Mexican  by  the  name  of  Pablo  Flores,  who  was  a 
prisoner  among  the  Pah  Utah  Indians,  discovered  some 
green  rocks  and  lead  ore.  A  short  time  after  he  had 
found  these  metals,  the  Americans  had  a  fight  with  the 
Indians  at  Owen' s  Lake,  when  he  made  his  escape.    He 


SMELTING    ORES.  341 

showed  the  Americans  specimens  of  the  metals,  which 
led  to  the  discovery  of  the  Cerro  Gordo  mines. 

All  the  metals  in  this  vicinity  are  worked  by  smelt- 
ing, or  by  the  lire  process.  I  soon  commenced  work 
for  Belshaw  and  Elder,  in  the  erection  of  a  snieltiiig- 
furnace.  After  the  furnace  was  completed  I  continued 
in  tlieir  employ  in  smelting  tlie  ores.  These  metals 
contain  arsenic  and  other  poisons.  In  working  these 
metals  there  is  made  what  is  called  a  llux,  whicli  is  a 
composition  of  lead,  silver,  iron,  and  cinder  or  dross, 
wliich  is  placed  in  a  furnace  and  smelted,  and  then  run 
into  pigs  or  bars,  composed  of  lead  and  silver.  The 
pigs  are  then  shipped  to  San  Francisco  where  the  h>ad 
is  separated  from  the  silver.  A  ton  of  these  pigs  yield 
nearly  a  thousand  dollars  in  silver.  Tlie  lead  is  worth 
about  five  and  a  half  cents  per  pound  there,  and  just 
about  covers  the  expense  of  transportation  to  San 
Francisco,  and  the  expense  of  separating  and  refining. 

I  continued  in  this  business  until  I  became  paralyzed 
from  the  effects  of  the  poison  in  the  smoke,  when  I  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  a  phj'sician,  and  by  the  time  I 
was  able  to  resume  work  I  had  exj^ended  all  my  funds. 
I  th«Mi  became  acquainted  with  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Honn,  a  Dutchman,  who  told  me  he  came  here  from 
Salt  Lake  by  the  way  of  Death  Valley,  wliich  he  con- 
sidered a  very  rich  country  in  the  way  of  minerals,  and 
proposed  to  me  to  go  with  him  and  prospect  that  coun- 
try. I  told  him  I  had  no  means,  to  which  he  said  all 
he  wanted  was  a  couple  of  pack  mules  or  jacks,  and 
provisions,  for  which  he  could  furnish  the  means.  He 
agi-eed  that  we  should  share  equally  in  whatever  we 
found,  and  said  if  we  were  successful  in  prospecting, 
he  had  a  friend  who  would  furnish  anything  we  might 
want  for  mining,  provided  we  would  give  him  a  share. 


342  DEATH  VALLEY. 

We  then  bought  two  jacks  and  loaded  them  with  pro- 
visions and  mining  utensils,  and  started  for  Death  Val- 
ley, in  company  with  a  man  named  Hunter,  who  joined 
us  the  day  we  left. 

The  region  about  Death  Valley  is,  for  the  most  part, 
very  mountainous,  but  in  some  sections  are  found  des- 
erts of  sand  sixty  miles  in  width.  During  the  year 
1852,  an  emigrant  train  in  passing  through  this  section, 
attempted  to  go  by  way  of  the  valley,  as  they  stood  in 
sreat  fear  of  the  Indians  who  infested  the  mountains. 
But  they  ran  from  one  danger  into  another.  In  cros- 
sing this  desert  they  lost  their  way,  and  with  one  ex- 
ception all  perished.  The  man  who  survived,  wliom 
we  met,  gave  an  account  of  a  rich  silver  mine,  which 
was  discovered  by  one  of  the  men  who  perished.  The 
man  who  found  this  mine  made  a  gun- sight  of  a  piece 
of  the  metal,  which  gave  to  the  mine  the  name  of 
"Gun-sight  Lode."  We  tried  to  induce  our  infoi-mant 
to  accompany  us  to  this  mine,  but  he  declined,  saying 
he  had  passed  through  enough  in  that  section  already, 
and  never  wished  to  return  there. 

As  the  account  of  the  richness  of  the  mine  was  very 
flattering,  we  decided,  after  learning  its  location,  to  find 
it  if  possible.  On  our  arrival  in  the  valley  we  found 
the  remnants  of  the  train  and  the  skeletons  of  the  party, 
in  a  locality  which  agreed  with  the  description  given 
us,  as  did  the  location  of  surrounding  mountains  in  the 
distance.  In  prospecting  we  found  many  kinds  of 
minerals,  but  the  country  was  destitute  of  water  and 
wood,  the  mountains  being  composed  of  ledges  of 
rocks.  But  the  mine  we  were  unable  to  find.  After 
searching  in  vain  for  eight  days,  finding  but  little  water, 
my  feet  became  so  lame  that  I  was  able  to  walk  only 
with  great  difficulty.     My  friends  left  me  at  a  small 


EXHAUSTION   OF   MY  COMPANIONS.  343 

pool  of  water  wliichwo  fortunately  found  ;  and,  talking 
with  them  provisions  and  water  sufficient  for  two  days, 
started  on  a  prospecting  trip  to  a  mountain  wliich  ap- 
peared about  twenty  miles  distant,  saying  tliiy^  would 
return  the  next  day  if  possible. 

I  remained  at  this  pool  four  days,  my  friends  not 
making  their  appearance.  My  anxiety  on  account  of 
my  friends,  wlio  weri^  now  two  days  behind  their  time, 
was  intense,  as  I  feared  that  even  if  they  did  not  perish 
from  lack  of  food  and  water,  they  might  be  massacred 
by  the  Pah  Utali  Indians,  as  I  knew  they  frequented 
that  vicinity.  I  also  felt  that  I  was  in  no  condition  to 
defend  myself  if  attackcxl  by  Indians. 

On  the  moi-ning  of  the  liftli  day  I  went  to  the  toj)  of 
a  high  hill  to  take  an  observation,  and  from  there  I  dis- 
covered a  man  coming  over  the  sandy  plain  below.  I 
started  to  go  to  him,  and  found  on  reaching  him  that  it 
was  my  friend  Ilonn,  who  was  nearly  dead  from  hun- 
ger and  thirst.  In  answer  to  my  inquiries,  he  said  he 
liad  left  Mr.  Hunter  three  or  four  miles  back  so  ex- 
hausted, that  he  was  unable  to  go  further.  I  then  took 
Mr.  Honn  into  camp,  and  gave  him  food  and  drink. 
These  men  in  going  out  prospecting  had  refused  to  take 
tlie  jacks,  for  fear  they  might  not  find  water  sufficient 
for  them,  and  they  might  i)W-ish,  thus  leaving  us  no 
means  of  escape  from  that  barren  country. 

While  I  had  been  gone,  two  hours,  the  jacks  had 
been  into  our  camp  and  eaten  up  most  of  our  flour, 
which  placed  us  in  no  enviable  situation.  Mr.  Honn, 
after  eating,  imuK^diately  fell  asleep,  and  I  took  some 
provisions  and  a  canteen  of  watiT  and  started  in  search 
of  Mr.  Hunter,  taking  Mr.  Ilonn's  tracks  as  a  guide. 
In  my  anxiety,  I  did  not  stop  to  get  the  jacks,  but 
started  on  foot.     I  found  Mr.  Hunter  asleep,  with  his 


344  llESOLVE   TO    LEAVE   DEATH   VALLEY. 

gold  pan  under  his  head. '  When  I  aroused  him  from 
his  slumber,  he  looked  wildly  at  me,  and  attempted  to 
escape;  but  I  caught  him  and  endeavored  to  quiet 
him.  lie  soon  recognized  me,  and  made  inquiries  for 
Mr.  Honn.  I  told  him  he  was  all  right  and  in  camp. 
He  then  said,  "  For  God's  sake,  have  you  any  water." 
I  gave  him  the  cant-een,  which  contained  about  three 
pints.  He  grasped  it,  and  in  liis  eagerness  would  have 
drank  it  all,  had  I  not  taken  it  away  from  him,  when 
he  begged  that  he  might  drink  all  he  wished.  I  told 
him  he  must  eat  something,  and  when  he  had  done  so 
I  would  give  him  more.  After  eating  I  gave  him  a 
small  quantity  of  water,  and  he  became  more  calm  and 
rational.  He  then  told  me  that  in  returning  from  the 
mountain,  where  their  search  had  been  unsuccessful, 
they  had  become  bewildered,  and  not  feeling  at  all  sure 
that  they  were  going  in  the  riglit  direction,  he  had  given 
himself  up  as  lost.  As  soon  as  he  felt  able  to  walk 
to  camp  we  started  on  our  return,  and  when  about 
half  way  there,  I  allowed  him  more  water  and  food. 
We  arrived  safely  in  camp  about  sunset. 

We  found  our  friend  Honn  still  sleeping  soundly, 
and  Mr.  Hunter  had  a  good  night' s  rest,  as  he  slept 
soundly  till  morning.  In  the  morning  I  told  them  we 
should  be  compelled,  for  want  of  provisions,  to  return 
to  Cerro  Gordo  as  soon  as  they  were  able  to  travel.  Our 
stock  of  flour  had  been  reduced  by  the  raid  made  on  it 
by  the  thieving  jacks,  to  about  six  pounds,  and  this 
had  been  somewhat  injured  by  them.  As  Cerro  Gordo 
was  over  a  hundred  miles  distant  it  was  necessary  for 
us  to  start  as  soon  as  possible,  in  order  to  reach  it  be- 
fore our  provisions  gave  out.  We  retreated  from  this 
desolate  place  (appropriately  named  Death  Valley), 
and  arrived  finally  at  the  mountains  just  below  Cerro 


ARRIVAL  AT  CEKRO  GOKDO.  345 

Gordo  and  Ibuiid  the  snow  and  ice  so  plenty  on  the 
mountains  that  our  animals  could  not  easily  ascend. 
We  told  Mr.  Hunter  if  he  would  remain  where  we  then 
were  with  the  jacks  we  would  endeavor  to  reach  the 
mining  camp  at  the  top  of  the  mountain  and  return 
with  i)rovisions,  which  he  consented  to  do.  All  we  had 
to  leave  with  him  was  a  small  piece  of  bacon  and  sonu; 
ground  coftee.  The  jacks  were  able  to  survive  on  tall 
bunch  grass  and  small  brush. 

Mr.  Honn  and  m3'self  reached  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain that  night,  about  9  o'clock,  wading  through  the 
snow  in  some  places  to  our  waists.  After  much  suffer- 
ing from  cold  and  hunger,  by  midnight  we  reached 
Cerro  Gordo,  or  the  camp  of  miners.  Mr.  Honn  being 
rather  fond  of  whisky,  comuKMiced  indulging  freely, 
for  he  was  nearly  frozen  ;  and  both  of  us  were  after  a 
while  warmed  np  and  thawed  out  with  hot  drinks  fur- 
nished by  these  hospitable  miners  who  had  given  us  up 
for  lost.  Early  in  the  morning  we  obtained  a  sack  of 
flour,  some  bacon,  and  other  provisions  that  we  could 
easily  carry  on  our  backs,  and  some  matches,  for  we 
knew  that  we  should  be  detained  at  the  foot  of  the 
hills  until  the  weather  changed,  and  started  on  our 
return  to  Mr.  Hunter.  We  had  each  obtained  a  bottle 
of  Avhisky,  and  Honn  was  so  careful  of  his  that  he  car- 
ried it  in  his  hand. 

He  was  a  little  unsteady  from  the  effects  of  the 
"thawing  out"  process  of  the  night  before,  and,  in 
descending  a  steep  place,  his  foot  slipped,  and,  as  the 
sack  of  flour  on  his  back  made  him  top-heavy,  he  fell, 
and  rolh>d  heels  over  head  some  thirty  feet.  The  bag 
of  flour  caught  in  the  brush,  tearing  it  and  spilling  part 
of  the  precious  contents.  Honn  brought  up  against  a 
pine  tree,  and  holding  up  his  bottle,  on  which  he  had 


346  A  VISIT   FROM   A   PAII    UTAH. 

bestowed  most  of  Ms  care,  he  remarked  tliat  lie  had 
saved  the  best  part  of  his  load.  I  gathered  up  what 
flour  I  could,  aud  told  him  I  thought  the  flour  of  the 
most  importance,  but  he  preferred  the  whisky.  We 
then  made  our  way  down  the  mountain  as  best  we  could, 
and  finally  found  Mr.  Hunter,  who  was  overjoyed  to 
see  us.  I  made  a  fire  in  our  little  camp  stove,  wet  up 
some  of  the  flour  and  baked  some  biscuits,  which,  with 
our  other  fixings,  made  us  a  capital  meal.  We  re- 
mained here  several  days,  our  jacks  getting  recruited 
in  a  small  ravine  below  where  there  w^as  no  snow  and 
the  bunch  grass  was  plenty.  We  now  commenced  to 
work  our  way  up  the  mountain  sides  with  our  jacks, 
for  the  snow  had  rapidly  melted  and  settled,  and  then 
frozen  stiff",  so  we  could  get  our  beasts  along.  In  due 
time  we  arrived  in  camp  at  Cerro  Gordo,  where  we 
were  looked  upon  almost  as  having  returned  from  the 
grave. 

We  had  discovered  fourteen  ledges  of  different  kinds 
of  metals,  silver,  gold,  and  copper,  and  brought  speci- 
mens of  each  with  us.  These  we  now  had  assayed, 
and  they  were  pronounced  rich  ;  but  the  locality  was 
such,  the  country  so  desolate  on  account  of  the  scarci- 
ty of  wood  and  water,  we  could  get  no  parties  to  inter- 
est themselves  in  our  discoveries. 

Soon  after  our  return,  a  Pah  Utah  Indian  came  to 
Cerro  Gordo  with  a  very  rich  specimen  of  gold.  He 
could  talk  Spanish  a  little,  and  told  me  if  I  would  give 
him  some  presents  he  would  show  me  where  the  gold 
was.  I  then  asked  my  friends  Hunter  and  Honn  if 
they  would  accompany  me  with  the  Indian.  Mr.  Honn 
was  ready  to  go,  but  Mr.  Hunter,  on  ascertaining  that 
from  all  I  could  learn  from  the  Indian,  the  mine  was 
probably  on    the  borders  of  Death  Valley,  said  he 


DESERTED    BY   OUR   GUIDE.  347 

had  seen  all  he  wished  to  of  that  comitiy,  and  would 
not  return  there  if  the  whole  country  was  a  solid  mass 
of  gold.  I  then  took  the  piece  of  gold  which  the  In- 
dian gave  me,  and  had  it  assayed,  when  it  proved  very 
rich.  I  took  the  Indian  to  a  store  and  asked  him  what 
he  wanted,  and  he  said  some  calico,  tobacco,  a  pipe, 
and  some  beads,  which  I  gave  him.  We  then  bought 
provisions  enough  to  load  our  two  jacks  and  another  a 
friend  of  mine  gave  me,  and  started  to  find  the  gold 
ledge  which  the  Indian  told  us  it  would  require  ten 
days  to  reach. 

The  first  eight  days  of  our  journey  passed  without 
any  particular  adventure.  On  the  ninth  day,  when  we 
awoke  in  the  morning,  our  Indian  was  missing,  and  I 
never  saw  him  afterwards.  I  told  Ilonn  that  the  Indian 
having  proved  false,  we  had  better  go  on  as  we  were  so 
near  Death  Yalle}',  and  do  tlie  best  we  could  at  pros- 
pecting. He  thought  the  Indian  had  started  off  for  his 
tribe,  to  inform  them  of  our  position,  and  feared  that 
they  would  soon  be  down  on  us  in  force  to  murder  us. 
I  told  him  we  had  two  Henry  Rifles,  which  would 
give  us  thirty -two  shots,  and  two  six-shooters  with 
twelve  shots  more,  making  forty-four  shots,  and  that 
those  Indians  only  had  bows  and  arrows,  and  that  we 
could  cope  successfully  with  them,  and  we  had  better 
proceed,  hoping  to  find  gold  enough  to  make  our  trip 
profit:abl<\ 

AVe  started  soon  after  breakfast,  taking  along  a  ten 
gallon  k(\g  of  water,  and  followed  an  Indian  trail  till 
about  4  o'clock,  when  we  suddenly  came  across  a 
squaw  of  the  Pah  Utah  tribe,  who  was  digging  palm- 
roots,  which  is  the  principal  food  of  that  tribe.  On 
seeing  us  she  was  badly  frightened,  and  fell  on  her 
knees,  making  signs  for  us  not  to  kill  her.  I  then  took  her 
23 


348  MEET   WITH   AN   OLD   SQUAW. 

by  the  hand,  and,  raising  her  up,  showed  her  our  water 
keg,  and  made  signs  to  ascertain  if  she  could  tell  U3 
where  we  could  obtain  water.  She  then  started,  and 
following  the  Indian  trail,  showed  us  a  small  spring. 
Here  we  encamped  for  the  night.  Immediately  after 
showing  us  the  water  she  wanted  to  leave  us,  and  I 
made  si^ns  for  her  to  remain  and  she  should  have 
something  to  eat.  When  I  offered  her  some  food  she 
took  it  in  silence,  but  would  eat  nothing  till  Mr.  Honn 
and  m3^self  commenced  eating,  when  she  had  more  con- 
fidence and  began  to  eat.  After  supper  Mr.  Honn  and 
myself  lit  our  pipes  and  commenced  smoking,  when 
she  made  signs  that  she  wanted  to  smoke,  and  I  polite- 
ly offered  her  the  pipe,  when  she  puffed  away  and 
blew  the  smoke  out  of  her  nose  several  times,  then  re- 
turned me  the  pipe.  After  this  she  appeared  more  con- 
tented and  remained  with  us  that  night,  being  provided 
v/ith  a  blanket,  &c. 

I  told  Mr.  Honn  I  deemed  it  prudent  for  one  of  us 
to  remain  on  guard,  and  bethought  the  same.  I  there- 
fore kept  awake  till  after  midnight,  when  he  relieved 
me,  and  stood  guard  till  nearly  morning,  when  we  were 
aroused  by  our  jacks  running  towards  us  much  fright- 
ened. At  first  we  thought  the  Indians  were  upon  us, 
and,  jumping  up,  we  seized  our  rifles  and  prepared  to 
give  them  a  warm  reception  ;  but  the  howling  of  wolves 
around  us  convinced  us  that  there  was  no  cause  of 
alarm  from  Indians  just  then.  Although  wolves  may 
not  seem  very  desirable  neighbors,  we  felt  much  re- 
lieved when  we  found  what  frightened  our  animals. 

After  breakfast  we  were  about  resuming  our  march, 
when  I  made  signs  to  the  squaw  to  learn  where  we  could 
find  the  next  spring  of  water.  She  pointed  forward  in 
the  direction  of  the  Indian  trail,  making  signs  to  the 


JOINED   BY   TWO   AMERICANS.  349 

sun,  so  tliat  I  imderatood  we  could  reach  wat<T  before 
sunset.  I  had  with  me  some  curiosities  for  Indians, 
sucli  as  beads,  red  handkercliiefs,  finger  rings,  &c.,  and 
I  gave  her  a  sample  of  (\ach,  for  which  she  appeared 
grateful,  and  we  then  allowed  her  to  depart.  She 
started  for  a  mountain  a  few  miles  distant  and  we 
packed  u])  and  journeyed  onward.  After  going  nearly 
fifteen  miles  we  came  to  a  small  stream  of  water,  which 
was  in  Death  Valley,  but  it  was  so  bitter  as  to  be 
unlit  for  ourselves  or  animals.  After  looking  around 
for  some  time  I  found  a  spring  of  good  water,  near 
which  we  encamped  for  two  days.  In  prospecting 
there  we  discovered  places  which  yielded  eight  cents 
perhaps  to  the  pan  but  no  rich  ledge  as  we  expected. 
Here  we  were  surprised  by  the  appearance  of  two 
Americans  who  rode  into  our  camp,  one  of  whom  had 
an  arrow  sticking  in  his  left  shoulder.  His  name  was 
William  Wilson,  and  that  of  his  companion  was  John 
Patterson.  They  stated  that  they,  in  company  with 
two  others,  come  into  this  valley  prospecting,  as  an  In- 
dian had  shown  them  some  rich  specimens,  which  he 
said  came  from  this  vicinity.  They  had  been  visited 
at  their  camp,  which  was  about  ten  miles  below  us,  by 
a  party  of  Indians,  who  had  showed  them  some  nice 
specimens  of  silver  and  gold,  making  signs  that  they 
were  obtained  at  a  mountain  a  few  miles  off,  and 
offering  to  show  them  the  way  to  these  rich  diggings. 
Two  of  the  men  left  with  the  Indians,  expecting  to 
return  the  next  day.  The  following  day  the  two  men 
left  in  camp  were  attacked  by  a  party  of  Indians, 
and  hastily  mounting  their  horses,  they  had  escaped, 
leaving  all  their  effects,  and  providentially  had  seen 
our  camp  and  joined  us.  They  said  the  two  missing 
men  were  brothers,   by  the  name  of  Copeland,  and 


350  A   SEARCHING  PAETY. 

that  tliey  feared  tlie  Indians  were  traitors  and  would 
assassinate  tliera.  AfU^r  I  liad  cut  out  the  arrow  head 
from  the  man's  shonhlor,  they  concluded  that  it  was 
best  to  return  to  Silver  Peak,  where  there  was  a  miners' 
settlement  called  "  Belmont  flat,"  and  get  help  tore- 
turn  to  their  camp  and  search  for  the  Copeland 
l)rothers.  Belmont  was  distant  nearly  eighty  miles, 
and  as  they  knew  the  route,  and  that  there  was  water 
in  three  places,  Mr.  Honn  and  myself  decided  to  pack 
up  and  accompany  them,  for  the  situation  began  to  ap- 
pear dangerous  if  we  remained  beliind. 

We  arrived  safely  at  Belmont,  and  found  it  quite  a 
settlement.     We  organized  a  party  of  twenty-four  men, 
with  pack  mules,  provisions,  &c.,  and  started  back  to 
Death    A^alley  in  search  of  the  missing  men.      We 
searched  in  every  direction  in  the  valley  and  in  the 
mountains  where  the  Copelands  went,  but  could  see  no 
traces  of  them,  except  the  camp-fires  where  the  Indians 
had  been.     After  several  days  of  anxious  search,  we 
went  to  the  camp  where  the  two  men  were  attacked, 
and  found  that  all  the  property  left  there  by  them  had 
been  carried  away  ;  also  found  one  dead  Indian  cover- 
ed up  with  brush,  who  was  very  likely  killed  by  a  shot 
from  one  of  the  men  who  escaped.     The  Indians  wisely 
kept  out  of  our  sight,  for  our  party  of   twenty-four 
were  well  armed.     Being  satisfied  our  search  was  of  no 
avail,  Mr.  Wilson  said  he  would  be  revenged  on  the 
Indians  for  the  loss  of  his  friends.     He  had  brought 
some  strychnine  for  that  purpose,  and  mixing  some  of 
it  with  a  sack  of  flour,  and  one  of  sugar,  left  them  as 
as  a  present  to  the  rascally  red-skins  if  they  should 
happen  to  return  there.     The  whole  party  now  con- 
cluded to  go  back  to  Belmont  and  obtain  provisions 
and   mining    implements    to  work    several    mines  or 


NEW   SILVER  MINES.  351 

placers  which  we  discovered.  While  at  Belmont  an 
old  Indian  came  into  the  place  and  reported  that  the 
Indians  toward  Death  Valley  were  dying  rajjidly  of 
cholera.  The  same  party  of  twenty-four  men  soon  r(^- 
turned  to  Death  Valley  taking  the  old  Indian  with  us, 
and  we  found  quite  a  camp  of  dead  Indians  laying 
around  not  far  from  where  the  poisoned  provisions  were 
left.  We  then  told  the  old  Indian  to  show  us  the  two 
missing  men  or  their  bodies  or  suffer  instant  death, 
and  he  led  us  along  the  hillsides  to  a  place  where  we 
found  good  water,  and  we  encamped  that  night  near  the 
spring.  Here  the  Indian  made  an  attempt  to  escape, 
but  was  shot  and  killed  by  a  man  on  guard. 

The  next  day  we  continued  on  in  the  same  du-ection 
the  Indian  was  leading  us,  and  soon  came  to  another 
Indian  camp  where  there  were  nine  more  dead  Indians. 
From  here  we  went  to  the  "bitter  water  creek "  at  the 
foot  of  the  hills,  where  Mr.  Honn  and  I  had  discovered 
good  gold  indications,  which  turned  out  so  well  that  we 
remained  there  several  weeks,  when,  finding  our  supply 
of  water  failing,  and  our  provisions  giving  out,  we  re- 
turned to  Belmont. 

An  excitement  was  now  raging  here  relative  to  min- 
erals in  the  White  Mountains,  and  all  who  had  any- 
thing to  say  spoke  well  of  the  wonderful  quartz  of  the 
mountains,  with  its  occasional  veins  of  almost  pure 
metal.  Mr.  Honn  and  myself  packed  our  jacks  with 
provisions  and  started  for  the  place,  full  of  hope  and 
excitement.  On  our  arrival  we  found  several  prospect- 
ing parties  already  at  work,  and  before  long  we  discov- 
ered a  few  scattering  veins  of  silver  ore  not  over  two  or 
three  inches  wide  and  very  thin.  They  were  rich 
enough,  but  were  imbedded  in  hard  rock  which  could 
not  be  worked  without  stamp  mills,  crushing  appara- 


352  UNPROFITABLE  MINING. 

tus,  &c.  I  then  went  to  Independence  with  a  small 
party  to  get  some  of  my  specimens  assayed,  leaving 
Mr.  Honn  to  take  care  of  things  and  continue  prospect- 
ing. At  Independence  they  pronounced  some  of  my 
specimens  as  yielding  five  tliousand  dollars  to  the  ton 
of  rock,  which  simple  announcement  made  a  great  stir 
in  that  vicinity.  There  was  an  English  stock  company 
here  operating  in  mining  with  machinery,  and  they  of- 
fered me  two  hundred  dollars  to  show  them  where  I  ob- 
tained my  specimens,  to  which  I  consented,  as  I  had  no 
means  to  work  a  mine  in  the  way  it  would  be  necessary 
to  work  this. 

With  two  of  the  English  company  and  several  em- 
ployees I  started  for  the  White  Mountains,  and  after 
eiglit  days  reached  the  mines  and  showed  them  the 
small  veins  of  silver,  which  pleased  the  English  gentle- 
men, for  they  concluded,  that  though  small  and  unim- 
portant, these  veins  led  some  where  to  the  mother  vein, 
which  would  prove  of  great  value.  They  sent  to  Inde- 
pendence for  machinery  and  tools,  and  employed  me  as 
foreman  over  twelve  Cornish  miners  to  superintend  the 
work  at  one  hundred  dollars  per  month,  and  provisions 
found,  wliile  my  friend  Honn  took  a  contract  for  get- 
ting timber  from  the  mountain  for  house-building.  I 
advised  the  company  not  to  expend  much  capital  in 
buildings  nor  in  working  the  mine,  but  they  thought 
tlu^y  knew  best.  They  worked  the  mine  about  three 
months,  and  laid  out  in  all  two  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars before  they  gave  up  that  it  was  a  non-paying  con- 
cern. They  admitted  as  they  abandoned  it,  that  my 
advice  should  have  been  followed. 

Mr.  Honn  and  myself  returned  to  a  place  called  Lone 
Pine,  on  Owen's  river,  eighteen  miles  from  Cerro  Gor- 
do.    Lone  Pine  is  not  far  from  Owen's  Lake,  a  remark- 


Owen's  lake.  363 

able  body  of  water  which  always  remains  at  the  same 
lieiglit.  Owen's  river  and  various  smaller  streams 
empty  into  this  lake,  and  there  is  a  peculiar  oil-worm 
that  inhabits  its  waters,  and,  drifting  ashore  in  large 
numbers,  they  are  used  for  food  by  the  filtliy  Indians 
in  the  vicinity.  Scientific  men  have  analyzed  the  water 
and  pronounced  it  strongly  charged  with  borax,  and  it 
is  considered  beneficial  in  cutaneous  diseases  to  bathe 
in  it  freely.  After  bathing  in  it,  however,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  wash  in  pure  water,  or  the  skin  will  ])eal  off'  as 
if  burnt.  In  washing  clothes  it  requires  no  soap,  but 
clothes  washed  in  it  must  be  rinsed  in  pure  water  or 
they  will  be  destroyed.  On  this  lake  a  small  steamer, 
and  afterwards  a  fiat  boat  were  launched,  for  taking 
supi^lies  across  to  the  miners ;  but  in  six  months  the 
steamer  was  rendered  unserviceable  by  the  action  of 
the  water. 

.  After  we  had  been  in  Lone  Pine  a  while,  the  Pah 
Utah  Indians  grew  very  hostile,  and  we  formed  a  com- 
pany of  the  miners  for  protection.  About  this  time  we 
received  information  that  a  family  had  been  murdered 
by  the  Indians  at  a  place  called  Hay  way  Meadows.  We 
started  immediately  for  the  scene  of  the  massacre,  and 
found  the  woman  and  two  children  of  the  family  killed. 
The  hus])and  was  not  at  home  at  the  time  of  the  massacre, 
and  three  hired  men  who  were  working  there  ran  away. 
The  woman  defended  herself  until  the  Indians  set  fire  to 
the  house.  We  found  her  body  lying  in  front  of  the 
house  with  three  arrows  sticking  in  her  breast,  and  tlie 
children' s  skulls  were  crushed.  We  buried  the  remains 
of  the  woman  and  children,  and  soon  discovered  the 
three  mt^n  servants  returning  from  their  concealment  on 
the  hills,  who  told  us  in  what  direction  the  Indians  liad 
gone.     One  of  the  men  was  slightly  wounded  in  the 


354  A  husband's  desperation-. 

back  of  the  neck  by  an  arrow.     I  told  them  they  ought 
to  be  ashamed  to  run  and  leave  a  woman  under  such 
circumstances ;  but    they  said    that    they  urged    her 
strongly  to  flee  with  them,  but  she  refused.     We  then 
started  off  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians,  who  numbered 
over  a  hundred,  and  we  had  fifty- six  men  in  our  party, 
all  mounted.     We  overtook  them  near  Owen's  Lake, 
where,  being  surprised  by  us,  they  were  mostly  driven 
into  the  lake  and  over  half  of  them  shot  or  drowned. 
A  few  made  their  escape  and  the  remainder  we  captur- 
ed and  took  to  Fort  Independence,  and  turned  them 
over  to  the  United  States  officers.     One  Indian  girl  was 
found  buried  in  a  sand  bank  where  she  had  secreted 
herself  so  nicely  that  only  her  nose  and  chin  were  visi- 
ble.    We  recovered  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
in  gold  from  the  Indians,  also  the  clothing  they  had 
stolen  from  the  murdered  family.     When  the  unfor- 
tunate husband  returned  and  found  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren slaughtered,  his  grief  made  him  desperate.     His 
name  was  Wright,  but  he  has  been  wrong  ever  since, 
as  many  of  the  Indians  have  found  to  their  sorrow,  for 
with  a  crazy  zeal  he  fought  everything  in  the  semblance 
of  an  Indian,  whether  friendly  or  not,  whenever  he 
had  an  opportunity.     I  restored  him  the  gold  and  the 
clothing  they  stole  from  him,  when  he  smiled  on  me 
with  grateful  looks  for  my  services,  and  with  fearful 
oaths  vowed  to  have  his  revenge.     Finally  he  was  ar- 
rested by  the  United  States  officers  for  Idlling  friendly 
Indians,  and  confined  at  Fort  Independence  as  insane  ; 
but  death  came  to  the  poor  man' s  relief  in  a  few  months, 
for  his  last  days  were  spent  in  mad  ravings  and  bitter 
cursings  of  the  Indian  race. 

Not  long  after  we  had  routed  these  Pah  Utahs,  a 
party  of  Mexicans  were  on  their  way  to  Saline  Valley 


A  TREATY   WITH   PAII   UTAIIS.  355 

for  salt,  wlien  tliey  were  attacked,  and  all  but  one 
killed  by  the  Pah  Utahs.  This  man  came  into 
Lone  Pine  and  reported  the  massacre,  when  I  started 
with  my  company  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians,  the  es- 
caped Mexican  going  with  us  as  a  guide.  On  arriving 
at  the  place  of  attack  we  found  nine  dead  Mexicans  ; 
and  three  dead  Indians  were  found  near  by  buried  up 
with  stones.  On  the  third  day  of  our  pursuit  we  over- 
took the  Indians  and  liemmed  them  in  at  the  base  of 
an  almost  perpendicular  mountain,  where  they  could 
not  escape.  We  killed  fifteen  of  them,  when  the  re- 
mainder, numbering  over  two  hundred  men,  women, 
and  children,  surrendered.  AVhen  the  chief  gave  him- 
self up  he  said  he  was  anxious  for  peace  with  the 
whites.  He  could  speak  Spanish  tolerably  well,  and 
told  me  his  name  was  "Big  Foot."  We  took  away 
their  bows  and  arrows  and  a  few^  guns  they  had  with 
them,  and  marched  them  as  prisoners  to  Fort  Indepen- 
dence. The  Pah  Utahs  then  concluded  a  treaty  of 
peace  with  the  officers  at  Fort  Indepcuidence,  the  chief 
promising  to  call  in  all  his  warriors  who  were  out  un- 
■der  different  leaders.  In  the  meantime  they  had  at- 
tacked a  place  called  "Hog  Rogers's  Ranche,"  near  the 
foot  of  Owen's  Lake.  When  the  news  reached  us,  I 
left  with  my  men,  accompanied  by  this  chief,  he  prom- 
ising to  call  off  his  men  and  deliver  them  to  the  officers 
at  the  fort.  On  our  arrival  at  the  ranche,  Rogers  and 
his  dog  (who  was  a  powerful  and  vicious  animal)  had 
killed  three  Indians,  and  the  others  had  left.  This 
man  Rogers  was  a  noted  desperado,  and  as  soon  as  he 
saw  the  Indian  chief  with  me  he  raised  his  rifle  and 
shot  him  dead.  I  then,  to  satisfy  the  tribe,  took 
Rogers  prisoner,  and  carried  him  back  to  the  fort,  leav- 
ing two  men  in  charge  of  his  ranche  till  he  could  have 


356 


PEACEFUL    INDIANS. 


his  trial.  He  was  tried  by  tlie  officers  and  bound  over 
to  keep  the  peace.  There  was  another  Indian  at  the 
fort  calling  himself  second  chief,  who  was  then  pro- 
moted to  head  chief,  and  they  gave  him  the  name  of 
Joe  Bowers.  Bowers  succeeded  in  uniting  the  scatter- 
ed warriors  in  the  neighborhood  of  tlie  fort,  and  was 
furnished  a  passport  from  the  officers  for  his  safety 
among  the  whites.  When  they  were  all  gathered  they 
were  placed  on  a  reservation  near  Fort  Independence, 
where  they  now  are,  I  presume,  and  to  the  best  of  my 
knowledge  have  remained  friendly  ever  since. 


CHAPTER  XXITL 

A  SHORT  time  after  the  treaty  with  the  Pah  Utahs, 
a  man  calling  himself  Delanej,  and  claiming  to 
be  a  Methodist  preacher,  came  to  live  with  Hog  Rogers, 
and  entered  into  partnership  with  him  for  the  purpose 
of  fencing  a  farm  at  the  foot  of  Owen's  Lake.     After 
being  with  him  some  thn^e  months,  Rogers  was  mis- 
sing.    Teamsters  going  iijj   and  down  the  road  made 
Rogers's  house  their  stopping  place  for  refreshments, 
and  in  answer  to  their  many  inquiries  concerning  his 
absence,  Delaney  told  them  he  had  gone  to  the  moun- 
tiiins  prospecting.     After  a  time,  the  teamsters  found 
the  ranche  deserted,  and   suspecting  foul  play,  they 
told  the  circumstances  to  the  miners  at  Lone  Pine.     A 
party  of  six,  including  myself,  imni(^diat(^ly  set  out  for 
the  ranche  to  investigate  the  matter,  and  on  our  arri- 
val at  the  place  found  it  deserted,  as  tlK^'e  was  no  living 
being  there,  except  Rogers's  faithful  dog,  his  hogs,  and 
poultry.     The  dog,  who  was  a  large  and  ferocious  an- 
imal, stood  guard  over  the  house,  and  would  not  let 
any  of  the  party  enter ;  and  we  could  not  make  up 
our  minds   to   shoot  or  injure  the  faithful   creature. 
After  trying  in  vain  to  coax  him  so  as  to  let  us  pass,  I 
secured  him  with  a  lasso,  and  tied  him  to  a  post.     This 
faithful  guarding  of  the  house  convinced  us  that  if 
Rogers  had  been  foully  dealt  with  it  was  by  no  stran- 
ger, as  the  dog  was  his  constant  companion. 
We  searched  the  house  and  stables,  but  discovered 


358  PURSUIT   OF   A   MUEDEEEE. 

no  clue  to  the  mysteiy  ;  but  on  returning  to  the  house, 
I  saw,  under  the  edge  of  the  bed,  a  blood  stain.  We 
then  took  up  two  of  the  floor  planks  and  found  the 
dead  body  of  Rogers,  who  had  been  shot  with  a  pistol 
ball  tlirough  the  head.  Tlie  body  we  took  up  and 
buried  decently,  and  returned  to  Lone  Pine,  and  re- 
ported the  facts  to  the  authorities. 

I  was  then  appointed  deputy  sheriff,  and  as  there  was 
no  doubt  of  Delaney' s  guilt,  was  sent  m  pursuit  of  him, 
with  two  good  friends  who  volunteered  to  assist  me. 
About  one  hundred  miles  from  Lone  Pine,  we  heard  of  a 
man  answering  to  his  description  who  had  passed 
through  a  small  mining  town  called  Tail  Hold.  We  fol- 
lowed on  to  a  place  called  Visalia,  hearing  nothing  fur- 
ther of  him,  and  had  nearly  given  up  finding  him  ;  but 
on  going  about  two  miles  further,  we  came  to  a  grove 
where  a  camp-meeting  was  being  held,  and  stopped  to 
make  some  inquiries  for  the  man.  Here  we  found  him, 
preaching  to  the  people  from  the  stand.  I  could  not 
be  mistaken  in  the  man,  for  I  had  often  seen  him  at 
Lone  Pine  and  at  Rogers's  ranche.  I  made  my  way 
to  the  stand,  and,  placing  my  hand  on  his  shoulder, 
informed  him  that  he  was  my  prisoner.  Recognizing 
me  as  coming  from  the  vicinity  where  his  crime  was 
committed,  he  attempted  to  draw  a  pistol  from  his 
pocket.  I  had  my  hand  on  my  revolver  when  I  touch- 
ed him  on  the  shoulder,  and  I  at  once  struck  him  on 
the  head  with  it,  knocking  him  down. 

Great  excitement  now  existed  all  over  the  camp 
ground,  the  brethren  asking  me  for  what  reason  I  was 
treating  a  brother  in  that  manner.  I  then  ran  my  hand 
in  his  breast  pocket  and  secured  his  small  revolver, 
which  I  held  up  to  the  astonished  gaze  of  the  people, 
and  asked  them  if  it  looked  very  ministerial  to  be 


A  WOLF   IN   sheep's   CLOTHING.  359 

preaching  witli  such  :i  weapon  in  liis  pocket,  and  in- 
formed Ihcni  that  1  had  a  warrant  ibr  his  aiT(_'st  us  a 
tliief  and  murderer. 

They  asked  Mr.  Delaney  if  he  knew  m(^,  when  lie 
answered  that  lie  had  seen  me  at  Lone  Pine,  in  Inyo 
County.  I  placed  him  in  charge  of  my  two  friends 
while  I  went  to  my  saddle-bags  to  get  a  pair  of  strong 
handcuffs,  which  I  placed  on  him.  We  then  started 
for  Visalia  with  the  prisoner,  as  the  brethren  by  this 
time  saw  that  they  had  been  deceived  by  him,  and 
would  not  interfere  to  save  this  wolf  in  slieep's 
clothing.  At  Yisalia  he  was  handed  over  to  the  au- 
thorities and  placed  in  jail. 

The  next  morning  I  took  the  prisoner  in  charge  and 
our  party  started  for  Lone  Pine.  When  we  had  reach- 
ed the  outskirts  of  the  town,  he  informed  me  that  he 
had  some  money  and  some  clothes  at  the  house  of  a 
Methodist  preacher,  and  begged  permission  to  return 
for  them.  We  went  back  and  got  the  cloth(>s  and  five 
thousand  dollars  in  gold.  This  man  was  very  indig- 
nant at  having  been  so  deceived,  and  told  Delaney  he 
had  been  the  cause  of  breaking  up  the  camp-meeting, 
and  had  done  vast  injury  to  the  cause  of  religion,  and 
inquired  what  he  had  been  guilty  of.  Delaney  excus- 
ed himself  by  saying  a  false  charge  had  been  gotten 
up  against  him,  but  he  should  vindicate  himself  and 
return  there  to  make  matters  straight.  I  told  the 
preacher  that  he  could  bid  Delaney  good-byes  for  in 
all  human  probability  he  would  not  conn^  back  there. 

We  then  resumed  our  journey  to  Lone  Pine,  and  got 
as  far  as  Portersville  that  night,  where  I  was  obliged 
to  put  the  prisoner  under  a  strong  guard,  as  there  was 
no  jail  in  the  place.  The  next  morning  the  guards  in- 
formed me  that   Delaney  made    desperate    attempts 


360  AN   ATTEMPT   AT   BRIBERY. 

during  the  night  to  remove  his  handcuffs  and  escape. 
•  On  learning  this,  I  went  to  a  bhicksmith's  and  procur- 
ed a  pair  of  shackles  and  placed  them  on  his  ankles. 
For  greater  security  and  speed,  I  put  the  prisoner  and 
the  money  on  board  the  regular  stage  for  Lone  Pine, 
and  took  my  seat  opposite  him,  while  one  of  my 
assistants  sat 'beside  him,  and  our  animals  were  led  by 
the  otlier  assistant  behind  the  stage.  The  morning  we 
left  Portersville  I  discovered  that  the  prisoner  had  a 
knife  which  had  escaped  my  notice  in  the  search  I 
made  of  his  person ;  this  I  immediately  took  pos- 
session of. 

Before  arrival  at  Hog  Rogers's  ranche  Delaney  of- 
fered me  the  five  thousand  dollars,  and  as  much  more 
which  he  claimed  that  he  had  buried  on  Rogers's  pre- 
mises, if  I  would  allow  him  to  escape.  He  told  me 
the  other  five  thousand  dollars  were  buried  at  the  cor- 
ner of  the  spring  house.  I  informed  him  that  I  would 
see  about  his  offer  when  we  had  dug  up  the  other 
money. 

At  Rogers's  place  we  found  my  friend,  Mr,  Honn, 
and  two  other  men,  whom  the  authorities  had  placed 
there  in  charge,  I  told  Delaney  to  show  me  the  place 
where  the  money  was  buried,  and  he  did  so.  My 
friend  Honn,  finding  a  spade,  dug  it  up.  With  the 
money  were  one  gold  and  two  silver  watches.  One  of 
the  silver  watches  had  been  stolen  from  a  Mr,  Nadieu, 
who  had  stopped  at  Rogers's  house  over  night.  The 
money  being  mostly  in  silver  coin,  it  was  too  heavy  to 
be  carried  by  him  when  he  left,  Mr.  Honn  now  in- 
formed us  that  Rogers's  dog  had  lain  on  the  grave  of 
his  master  since  he  was  buried,  only  leaving  it  occa- 
sionally to  get  food,  Mr,  Delaney  secretly  asked  me 
if  I  was  not  going  to  allow  him  to  escape,  in  consider- 


RESTRAINING  A  MOB.  3C1 

ationof  so  mucli  money,  &c.,  and  I  answered  his  im- 
pudent proposition  by  saying  I  was  a  swoi-n  ofRcc'r, 
and  bound  to  do  my  duty.  We  arrived  at  Lon(3  Pine, 
which  was  some  twenty  miles  from  the  ranche,  at  eight 
o'chx'k  tliat  evening. 

AVJien  I  was  handing  the  prisoner  over  to  the  autlior- 
ities  there  was  great  excitement  tlirougli  tlie  ])lace, 
people  collecting  from  every  direction,  shouting  "Hang 
him  !  Hang  him  !"  They  succeeded  in  getting  a  rope 
around  his  neck,  dragging  him  a  short  distance  ;  but  I 
defended  him,  and  appealed  to  the  crowd  to  preserve 
order,  at  the  same  time  cutting  the  rope  by  which  he 
was  being  hauled  on  the  ground.  A  squad  of  soldiers 
who  were  at  Lone  Pine  here  interposed  to  assist  me  in 
my  duty  and  took  charge  of  the  prisoner.  Delaney 
then  confessed  that  he  deserved  death,  but  that  he 
wished  to  make  a  confession  before  he  died. 

The  excitement  continued  through  the  night,  some  of 
the  miners  being  very  boisterous  and  demanding  his 
execution  without  delay,  telling  Delaney  that  his  time 
had  come.  I  handed  over  to  the  authorities  the 
money,  watches,  pistol,  and  knife,  taken  from  the  pris- 
oner, excepting  the  gold  watch,  which  I  told  them  I 
would  keep  till  I  found  the  owner  ;  and  also  told  them 
that  the  silver  watch  found  with  the  money  belonged  to 
Mr.  Nadieu,  as  his  name  was  on  the  inside  of  the  case, 
and  Delaney  had  confessed  to  me  that  he  had  stok^n 
the  watch  from  him.  My  fees  and  those  of  my  assist- 
ants were  paid  out  of  this  money. 

The  following  day  Delaney  had  his  trial,  and  con- 
fessed that  he  had  killed  Mr.  Rogers  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  his  money,  which  he  had  ascertained  was 
concealed  under  the  hearth-stone  in  his  house.  He 
sakl  also  that  Delaney  was  not  his  name,  but  that  his 


362  A  villain's  confession. 

real  name  was  Smitli ;  that  he  was  born  in  Indiana, 
and  liad  been  married  four  times.  He  requested  three 
or  four  days'  time  in  which  to  write  a  liistoiy  of  his 
crimes,  which  was  granted  him  by  general  consent ; 
for  the  public  mind  there  had  become  quite  interested 
in  these  developments,  and  felt  disposed  to  let  the  vil- 
lain unburden  himself  and  free  his  mind  by  confes- 
sion. The  chief  points  of  his  confession  were  as 
follows :  When  he  vv'as  twenty-one  years  of  age,  his 
father  was  hung,  in  Posey  county,  Indiana,  for  shoot- 
ing one  of  his  neighbors.  To  avoid  the  obloquy  which 
attached  to  him  as  the  son  of  a  murderer,  he  left  home 
soon  after  his  father's  execution,  and  made  his  way  to 
Springfield,  Illinois,  where  he  married  a  respectable 
girl  by  the  name  of  Knox,  with  whom  he  lived  about 
six  months,  and  getting  possession  of  her  propert}^, 
about  ten  thousand  dollars,  left  her  and  went  to  Little 
Rock,  Arkansas,  where  he  lost  all  the  money,  except 
five  hundred  dollars,  in  gambling.  Here  he  again 
married  a  respectable  girl,  and  after  living  with  h(^r 
about  six  months,  he  obtained  some  three  thousand 
dollars  from  her  in  cash,  when  he  left  her  and  went  to 
New  Orleans,  and  there  married  a  French  creole  girl. 
From  New  Orleans  he  went  to  Fort  Leavenworth, 
taking  his  wife  with  him.  Here  he  said  his  wife  left 
liim,  as  she  had  fallen  in  love  with  a  United  States 
officer.  He  remained  in  tliat  vicinity  some  time,  with 
the  determination  of  killing  her,  but  she  was  so  closely 
guarded  he  was  not  able  to  accomplish  his  purpose. 
From  Fort  Leavenworth  he  went  to  Salt  Lake,  where 
he  said  he  married  a  Mormon  girl,  and  after  robbing 
her  of  what  money  she  had,  he  went  to  California. 
During  the  time,  from  his  leaving  home,  he  had  changed 
Ms  name  four  times,  and  thought  himself  unfit  to  live 


A   KUDE  GALLOWS.  3G3 

longer.  He  confessed  that  tlie  gold  watch  I  liad  in  iiiy 
possession  beh)nged  to  Edward  Hatch,  a  man  that  lie 
liad  killed  in  Virginia  City,  Nevada,  under  the  follow- 
ing circumstances  :  They  were  at  work  togetlKU'  about 
four  miles  from  Virginia  City,  mining,  where  he  killed 
Mr.  Hatch,  and  buried  him  in  a  shaft  which  they  wer(i 
excavating.  He  had  taken  his  gold  watch  and  about 
four  thousand  dollars  in  money  which  Mr.  Hatch  had 
in  his  possession.  He  wished  me  to  write  to  Mrs. 
Hatch  (for  the  murd(,n-ed  man  left  a  wife  and  two  cliil- 
dren)  and  inform  her  of  the  fate  of  her  husband,  which 
must  have  been  the  cause  of  much  anxiety  to  her,  and 
also  of  the  fate  awaiting  liis  murderer.  This  I  prom- 
ised to  do.  After  this  murder,  he  made  his  way  to 
Lone  Pine,  where  he  became  interested  with  Hog 
Rogers  in  fencing  a  farm ;  and  his  career  from  that 
time  is  known  to  the  reader. 

When  he  was  taken  out  to  be  hung  he  requested  the 
privilege  of  speaking  to  the  persons  assembled.  He 
said  his  career  had  been  a  sad  one  from  his  youth  up. 
He  had  commenced  with  deception  and  stealing,  and 
now  was  about  to  suffer  for  murder.  He  acknowl- 
edged that  his  sentence  was  just,  and  that  he  deserved 
death  for  his  many  crimes.  He  ended  his  address  by 
urging  all  present  to  be  warned  by  his  fate.  He 
then  bade  them  all  good-bye,  and  in  another  moment, 
the  ropt*  being  adjusted  about  his  neck,  strong  hands 
turned  the  rude  ^\indlass  that  was  in  use  there  for 
hanging  up  beeves  when  slaughtered,  and  was  now 
used  in  place  of  a  gallows,  and  aft(^r  a  little  struggling, 
all  was  over  with  this  hardened  ci-iminal.  After  awhile 
the  body  was  taken  down  and  buried. 

Some  four  days  after  this  I  met  my  friend  Mi-.  Honn, 
from  Rogers's  ranche,  and  he  told  me  that  Rogers's 
24 


364 


AlS^   APPEOPEIATE  l^^ICKNAME. 


poor  dog,  Jack,  liad  died  from  grief,  and  tliat  lie  had 
buried  liim  by  tlie  side  of  liis  master.  Rogers's  real 
name  was  John,  but  he  had  received  the  name  of  Hog 
Rogers  for  stealing  hogs  some  years  before,  and  he 
took  pride  in  being  familiarly  called  by  the  name  the 
teamsters  had  given  him. 

The  authorities  at  Lone  Pine  advertised  extensively 
in  the  United  States  and  Mexico  for  heirs  to  Rogers'  s 
property,  but  no  one  appearing  to  claim  it,  the  money 
found  by  the  confession  of  his  murderer,  and  the  pro- 
ceeds of  his  real  estate,  which  was  sold  at  auction,  were 
used  for  building  school  houses  in  that  vicbiity. 


CrUAPTEE  XXIY. 

CALIFORNIA,  as  is  well  known,  was,  in  its  early 
history,  made  a  place  of  refuge  by  thieves,  gam- 
blers, and  desperadoes  of  all  classes  ;  and  like  Texas 
in  its  infancy,  it  sniftered  much  from  the  lawlessness  of 
many  who  went  there  as  speculators  and  miners.  This 
element  in  the  population  rendered  necessary  those 
vigilance  committei^s  which  sprung  up  in  a  night,  all 
over  the  state  ;  for  in  the  newly  and  imperfectly  organ- 
ized government,  there  was  too  much  delay  in  dispens- 
ing justice  to  this  class  of  rascals.  In  the  course  of 
my  California  experience  I  have  seen  many  villains 
brought  to  th(nr  deserts  by  these  committees,  and  have 
aided  in  ridding  the  country  of  many  of  them ;  and 
for  my  part  in  these  acts  I  have  never  felt  the  least  re- 
gret, as  I  always  felt  sure  they  were  guilty  of  the 
crimes  of  which  they  were  accused,  even  if  all  the  pro- 
ceedings at  their  trial  were  not  in  accordance  with  the 
customs  of  the  Eastern  States. 

One  of  the  worst  bands  of  desperadoes  that  ever  in- 
fested California  was  one  led  by  Joaquin  Murietta  and 
a  man  called  Tliree-fingered  Jack.  The  latter  of  these 
took  special  delight  in  torturing  and  murdering  China- 
men. 

This  Joaquin  Murietta  was  made  the  desperado  he 
was  by  the  villainy  of  some  of  the  characters  spoken 
of  at  the  commencement  of  this  chapter.  lie  was  a 
Mexican  who  arrived  in  California  in  1851,  with  his 
wife,  and  discovered  some  rich  gold  diggings  in  Mari- 


366  MUEIETTA   AND   THREE-FHSTGERED   JACK. 

posa  county.  He  liad  accumulated  all  the  gold  lie 
could  tie  up  in  a  buckskin,  when  four  American  des- 
peradoes came  to  his  claim  and  ordered  him  to  leave. 
He  went  to  his  cabin  for  his  effects  and  was  followed 
by  the  Americans.  They  took  the  gold,  which  they 
found  in  the  possession  of  his  wife,  and  then  insulted 
her,  at  which  Murietta  became  enraged  and  drew  his 
pistol  to  defend  his  wife,  for  they  had  commenced  to 
abuse  her  shamefully.  He  was  then  seized  by  three  of 
the  ruffians,  taken  from  his  house  and  tied  to  a  tree, 
where  they  flogged  him.  He  begged  of  them  to  kill 
Mm  but  not  to  torture  him  and  abuse  his  wife  in  that 
manner. 

After  the  whipping  they  released  him,  and  warned 
him  to  leave  the  country  by  a  certain  date  or  they 
would  kill  him.  He  left  the  mine  and  went  to  a  mining 
place  about  Ave  miles  distant,  where  several  Mexicans, 
some  of  them  his  friends,  were  at  work,  and  related  to 
them  the  story  of  his  wrongs,  at  which  they  were  very 
indignant.  With  his  friends,  he  returned  immediately 
to  his  old  camp  and  killed  three  of  the  fiends  who  had 
so  abused  him  and  his  wife.  Had  he  been  satisfied 
with  thus  taking  speedy  vengeance  on  those  who  had 
caused  his  misery,  no  one  could  have  said  a  word  in 
his  condemnation.  But  at  that  time  there  was  a  strong 
feeling  of  hostility  existing  between  American  and 
Mexican  miners,  and  he  swore  vengeance  on  all  Amer- 
icans, on  account  of  the  deeds  of  these  outcasts.  That 
same  night  he  left  Mariposa,  with  his  wife,  and  started 
for  St.  Joseph,  some  of  his  Mexican  friends  accompa- 
nying him. 

At  St.  Joseph  he  became  acquainted  with  Three- 
fingered  Jack,  and  they  formed  a  business  connection 
as  desperadoes  and  robbers.    They,  with  several  Mex- 


CLAIMIXG   A    REWARD.  367 

loans,  then  roturncfl  to  Mariposa  county,  whore  Ik^ 
killed  the  remaining  Ani<>rican  who  was  concerned  in 
robbing  him.  Murietta  then  persuaded  an  Indian  of 
the  Yagui  tribe,  who  was  an  accomplished  eut-thioat, 
to  join  his  party  ;  and  they  succeeded,  in  a  short  time, 
in  killing  and  robbing  a  number  of  Americans.  Tlie 
gang  soon  numbered  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  nu^n, 
and  their  custom  was  to  kill  and  rob  all  Americans 
they  met  on  the  road  ;  but  on  meeting  a  Mexican  they 
would  furnish  him  with  horses  or  money  if  he  was 
destitute. 

At  one  time  they  robbed  Wells,  Fargo  &  Go's  Ex- 
press, on  its  way  from  the  camp  of  Sonora,  and  captur- 
ed about  sixt}'  thousand  dollars  in  gold  dust.  This 
happened  in  Calaveras  count}^  In  the  stage  were  four 
passengers  and  the  driver,  who  were  all  killed  with  the 
exception  of  one  girl.  She  was  brutally  outraged  by 
Murietta  and  left  to  her  fate.  Tlie  stage  horses  were 
taken  by  the  party.  The  girl  was  soon  discovered  by 
some  teamsters  who  were  passing  and  taken  to  Calave- 
ras, where  she  had  a  brother  residing,  by  the  name  of 
John  ^Morgan.  "When  she  informed  her  brother  of  he^ 
sad  condition,  he  offered  a  reward  of  a  thousand  dol- 
lars to  anyone  who  would  show  him  ]\Iurietta,  the  per- 
petrator of  the  villain3\  Murietta  hearing  of  the 
reward,  went  into  Calaveras  one  night  and  going  to 
Morgan's  house,  Anth  his  pistols  in  hand,  told  him  that 
he  understood  he  had  offered  a  reward  to  anyone  who 
would  show  him  Murietta.  jNIr.  Morgan  said  ho  had 
made  such  an  offer,  when  Murietta  presented  a  pistol 
to  his  head  and  told  him  he  was  tlie  man  and  had  come 
to  claim  the  reward.  Morgan  handed  him  the  thou- 
sand dollars  and  asked  him  if  he  had  any  further  de- 
mand to  make.    Murietta  said :  No,  he  only  wanted 


368  BREAKIlSrG  THE   BAl^K. 

the  reward ;  but  that  if  Morgan  said  anything  in  re- 
gard to  the  matter  he  would  burn  the  town  before 
morning.  Murietta  was  disguised  by  heavy  false 
whiskers,  as  he  had  a  number  of  different  disguises 
which  he  changed  as  he  went  into  different  places. 

Before  daylight  that  morning  he  visited  a  gambling 
house  which  was  in  operation  in  the  town,  where  the 
game  of  monte  was  going  on,  and  learning  that  there 
were  some  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  the  concern,  he 
bet  for  some  time  against  the  game,  losing  considerable 
money.  None  of  the  gamblers  recognized  him  in  his 
disguise.  AVhen  he  rose  to  leave  they  urged  him  to 
stay,  as  he  appeared  to  be  a  good  customer.  He  said 
he  would  return  shortly  with  more  money,  and  if  he 
had  luck  he  would  break  the  bank.  He  soon  returned 
with  his  party  and  walking  up  to  the  man  who  was 
dealing  the  game,  said  to  him,  "Now  your  bank  is 
broke,"  and  shot  him  dead.  Two  men  sitting  near  the 
dealer  shot  Murietta  in  the  breast,  but  as  he  wore  a 
chain  armor  under  his  clothing,  the  balls  had  no  effect. 
Three  of  the  gamblers  were  killed,  and  three  others 
made  their  escape.  Murietta  and  his  party  took  all 
the  money  they  could  find,  and  left  the  place  in  a 
hurry.  Those  citizens  who  were  up  early  in  the  morn- 
ing saw  a  party  of  horsemen  fleeing  from  the  town  in 
all  haste,  but  were  not  aware  that  it  was  the  gang  of 
Murietta  until  Morgan  appeared  and  told  how  the 
bandit  leader  had  coolly  abstracted  one  thousand  dol- 
lars from  him  during  the  night.  This  in  addition  to 
his  sister's  disgrace,  now  made  him  desperate. 

The  next  heard  of  Murietta  was  about  seventy -five 
miles  from  Calaveras,  where  he  and  his  party  entered 
a  Chinese  camp,  and  surprising  them  in  the  night,  rob- 
bed the  poor  astonished  Chinese  of  all  their  gold  dust 


REFUSAL   TO   SUEIIENDER.  3f59 

and  valuables,  wliile  Three-fingered  Jack  amused  liini- 
self  by  killing  and  mutilating  a  number  of  them.  From 
this  camp  they  went  to  St.  Joseph,  where  IMurietta 
had  left  his  wife.  In  1854,  Murietta  and  the  part}-, 
emboldened  by  their  successes,  made  a  tour  by  night 
through  central  California,  doing  all  manner  of  mis- 
chief ;  breaking  open  stores,  robbing  banks,  and  shoot- 
ing innocent  people  on  the  highways. 

The  United  States  officers  in  California  sent  word,  or 
published  a  notice,  to  Murietta  that  if  he  would  deliv- 
er himself  up  to  them  his  life  would  be  spared,  as  they 
thought  he  had  some  reason  for  doing  as  he  had  done. 
He  replied  to  them  that  he  never  would  surrender  as 
long  as  life  was  left  him  ;  that  he  thought  the  Ameri- 
cans had  treated  him  like  a  dog,  but  that  he  did  not 
care  so  much  for,  as  for  the  treatment  they  had  shown 
his  wife  ;  that  it  was  his  determination  to  kill  as  many 
Americans,  and  commit  as  many  depredations  as  pos- 
sible. He  claimed  he  had  been  an  honest  man  up  to 
the  time  of  the  abuse  heaped  on  himself  and  wife  by 
the  four  Americans.  His  party  still  continued  killing 
and  committing  the  grossest  crimes.  The  authorities 
offered  a  reward  of  nine  thousand  dollars  for  Murietta 
dead  or  alive. 

A  company  of  twenty-five  men  was  now  organized 
by  Michael  Burns  and  Mr.  Love,  for  the  capture  of 
Murietta.  They  followed  the  bandits  for  many  months, 
but  they  had  fortified  themselves  strongly  in  the 
mountains,  coming  down  frequently  to  make  raids 
upon  trains  and  villages,  alwaj's  being  able  to  return 
with  their  plunder  to  the  mountains.  After  a  long 
and  unsuccessful  search.  Burns  and  his  party  met  a 
Mexican  boy  who  had  been  herding  she<^p  on  the 
mountain,  and  had  come  down  into  a  settlement  for 


370  DEATH   OF  MFEIETTA. 

provisions.  They  inquired  of  tliis  boy  if  lie  knew  of 
any  party  secreted  in  the  mountains.  He  said  he  had 
noticed  men  and  horses  in  a  little  valley  in  sight  of 
where  his  sheep  were  grazing.  They  hh-ed  this  boy  to 
return  and  pilot  them  up  the  mountain  ;  and  upon 
reaching  the  place  from  which  he  had  seen  the  party, 
he  pointed  to  a  little  vale  between  the  mountains  and 
showed  them  twenty-five  or  thirty  horses  feeding. 
Burns' s  party  were  well  armed  with  rifles  and  revol- 
vers, and  being  sure  of  their  men  if  they  used  judg- 
ment, they  cautiously  descended  towards  the  camp, 
which  they  could  plainly  see  in  the  brush,  and  sur- 
rounded it  without  being  discovered.  Burns  was  a 
good  shot,  and  he  wanted  the  pleasure  of  shooting 
Murietta  himself ;  for  he  knew  him,  when  he  was  not 
disguised. 

Circumstances  favored  the  attacking  party.  The 
band  had  just  returned  from  a  successful  raid,  and 
were  all  seated  about  a  table,  celebrating  their  good 
fortune.  But  for  the  fact  of  their  being  thus  noisily 
engaged.  Burns' s  party  might  not  have  succeeded  as 
well  as  they  did  in  surrounding  them  unobserved. 
The  signal  for  the  attack  was  to  be  the  firing  of  Burns' s 
gun.  He  gave  the  signal  by  taking  good  aim  at  Muri- 
etta' s  head,  putting  in  a  ball  near  his  left  eye,  which 
killed  him  instantly.  The  remainder  of  his  party, 
which  was  composed  of  twelve  men,  were  also  killed, 
with  the  exception  of  Three-fingered  Jack,  who  jump- 
ed on  a  horse  and  attempted  to  escape,  but  being 
closely  pursued,  was  overtaken.  He  turned  on  the 
men  in  pursuit,  firing  several  shots  at  them  from  his 
revolvers,  wounding  one  man  in  the  side.  They  then 
called  on  him  to  surrender.  His  reply  was  that  he 
preferred  to  be  shot  rather  than  hung,  and  he  would 


DOUBTS   REMOVED.  371 

not  surrondor;  he  was  sliot  and  fell  dead  from  liis 
horse.  They  cut  oft*  liis  liand  wliich  liad  tlircc  iingers 
on  it,  as  an  evidence  of  his  death,  and  taking  it  with 
them,  returned  to  wliere  Murietta  was  kilh'd  ;  and  cut- 
ting ofl'  liis  liead  took  it  with  the  hand  of  Three- 
fing(^red  Jack  to  San  Francisco. 

Their  arrival  in  the  city  created  a  great  excitement, 
and  many  doubts  were  expressed  as  to  its  being  the 
head  of  Murietta.  Finally,  to  satisfy  all  doubts  and 
enable  the  captors  to  claim  the  reward,  the  wife  of  the 
bandit  chief  was  sent  for.  She  was  stopping  with 
friends  at  a  place  called  Johnstown,  and  on  her  arrival 
she  said  if  it  was  the  head  of  her  husband  they  would 
find  a  scar  on  his  left  cheek.  An  examination  showed 
the  scar  as  she  described  it.  When  the  head  was 
shown  her,  she  pronounced  it  her  husband's.  The  re- 
ward was  then  paid  over  to  Burns  and  his  party.  The 
head  of  Murietta  and  the  hand  of  Three-fingered  Jack 
were  j)reserved,  and  are  still  in  San  Francisco. 

Murietta' s  wife  stated  that  he  liad  been  strictly  hon- 
est up  to  the  time  they  v.Tre  so  maltreati^d  by  Ameri- 
cans ;  adding  that  for  her  part  she  regretted  that  he 
had  not  killed  more  than  he  did.  During  this  inter- 
view she  said  that  she  intended  to  return  to  the  state  of 
Sonora,  where  her  husband's  father  and  mother  resi- 
ded, when  the  autliorities  inquired  whether  she  had 
means  to  reach  Sonora.  She  said  she  liad  :  l)ut  if  des- 
titut(^  she  would  not  accept  anything  fi-om  an  Amer- 
ican. A  few  days  after  this  she  left  San  Francisco  by 
vessel  for  Sonora. 

A  number  of  ]\furietta's  band  were  not  with  him  at 
the  time  of  the  attack  of  Burns,  but  were  in  the  moun- 
tains, scattered  in  small  bands,  with  a  large  number  of 
horses  and  mules.     When  their  chief  was  killed  they 


372  THE   LAST   OF   THE   GANG. 

attempted  to  make  their  escape  to  Mexico  as  stock  dri- 
vers, but  were  overtaken  in  Los  Angeles  county,  and 
nearly  four  liundred  liead  of  horses  and  mules  taken 
from  them.  In  this  encounter  eleven  of  the  gang  were 
captured  and  hung,  but  several  made  their  escape ; 
among  those  who  were  hung  was  a  man  called  Bloody 
Bill,  but  whose  right  name  was  Jack  Downing.  He 
was  a  hardened  wretch,  and  had  no  such  show  of  rea- 
son for  his  conduct  as  Murietta  had.  Before  being 
hung  he  was  asked  what  he  had  to  say,  when  he  re- 
plied that  he  had  killed  a  dozen  better  men  than  any  of 
his  hangmen,  and  that  he  intended  if  he  had  not  been 
caught  to  kill  a  dozen  more.  His  captors  waited  to 
hear  no  more  of  his  brutal  speech,  but  hung  him  in- 
stantly. 

Word  was  sent  to  Fort  Yuma,  on  the  Colorado  river, 
of  the  escape  of  some  of  this  part  of  the  gang,  and  the 
officers  cautioned  to  be  on  the  watch  for  them.  It  was 
soon  found  that  two  of  them  were  drowned  in  attempt- 
ing to  cross  the  Colorado,  but  the  rest  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  state  of  Sonora.  The  governor  of  that 
state  had  received  a  dispatch  from  the  United  States 
officers  stating  that  such  a  party  were  in  his  territory, 
and  by  a  little  strategy  they  were  captured  and  hung, 
with  one  exception.  Among  them  were  two  leaders, 
called  Lame  Floris  and  Curly -headed  Chihuahua. 
These  two  men  confessed  where  they  stole  most  of  the 
horses  and  mules,  and  stated  that  when  they  were 
obliged  to  flee  from  the  mountains  in  California  with 
their  animals,  they  left  in  such  haste  that  they  .could 
not  dig  up  about  thirty  thousand  dollars  in  gold  which 
they  had  buried  in  different  places.  Curly-headed 
Chihuahua  was  therefore  spared  awhile,  for  he  prom- 
ised to  accompany  a  party  to  show  them  where  the 


MONEY    RECOVERED.  373 

money  was,  if  tlio  uiitliorities  would  save  him  from  tho 
gallows.  To  this  the  govcu'iior  agreed,  and  a  (;omi)any 
of  fifteen  mounted  men  of  the  governor's  guards  start- 
ed with  this  d('S})(>rado,  having  orders  to  kccj)  a  sluirp 
lookout  for  him,  and  ri^aelicd  the  mountains,  secured 
the  g(^]d,  and  returned  with  it  safely,  delivering  it  to 
the  governor  of  Sonora,  who  deposited  it  in  the  treas- 
ury for  safe  kec^ping  until  some  proper  claimants 
should  appear.  During  the  absence  of  this  party  to 
the  mountains,  the  governor  received  information  that 
this  hand  of  robbers  had  stolen  from  his  sister-in-law, 
in  California,  over  a  hundred  brood  mares,  mules,  &c., 
which  so  enraged  him  that  when  they  retured  with  the 
gold,  he  told  this  curly-headed  scoundrel  that  he 
should  be  saved  from  the  gallows,  as  agreed,  but  he 
should  be  shot  immediately  ;  for  he  was  too  dangerous 
a  man  to  be  turned  loose  to  organize,  perhaps,  another 
band  as  formidable  as  the  previous  one.  He  was 
therefore  taken  out  and  shot,  before  he  had  time  to  rest 
himself  from  his  long  and  weary  ride. 

The  governor  informed  the  authorities  in  California 
of  the  recovery  of  this  large  amount  of  gold,  which 
had  been  stolen  by  Murietta'  s  part}^,  and  that  any  per- 
son who  brought  sufficient  proofs  of  ownership  should 
have  their  part  of  it.  One  Californian  brought  proofs 
that  he  was  a  sufferer  to  the  amount  of  several  thou- 
sand dollars,  which  the  governor  paid  to  him  ;  but  a 
large  part  of  the  money  was  never  claimed,  for  the  rea- 
son tliat  the  owners  wer(»  murdered  as  wi^ll  as  robbed. 

The  governors  of  Sonora  and  California  entered  into 
a  mutual  agreemimt,  and  published  an  ord(>r,  that 
until  further  notice  no  man  sliould  be  allowed  to  pass 
from  one  state  to  the  other  without  a  written  pennit 
duly  signed  by  the  proper  officers.     This  was  consid- 


374 


OEDER  TO   RESTRAIN   OUTLAWS. 


ered  absolutely  necessary  to  facilitate  the  arrest  of 
roving  murderers  and  liigliway  robbers,  of  wliicli  the 
country  was  then  full.  After  this  order  was  put  in 
operation,  murders  and  robberies  became  less  frequent, 
for  those  who  were  caught  and  found  guilty,  either  by 
a  vigilance  committee  or  by  a  justice  of  the  peace, 
were  immediately  hung. 


CnAPTEE  XXY. 

THE  United  States  government  wished  to  make  a 
survey  of  the  almost  entirely  unknown  country 
about  Death  Valley,  and  to  la}'-  out  a  route  from  Fort 
Independence,  in  Inyo  County,  California,  to  Fort 
Mohave,  and  an  expedition  was  ordered  for  that  pur- 
pose. Tlie  commanding  ofhcer  of  this  expedition,  Cap- 
tain Andrew  McFarland,  heard  of  my  experience  in 
tliat  desolate  region,  and  wished  to  engage  me  as  a 
guide,  offering  me  very  liberal  terms.  I  toldliim  I  was 
not  acquainted  with  the  entire  route,  but  that  if  he 
wished  my  services  I  would  do  the  best  1  could  for 
him.  I  told  him  I  only  knew  the  route  to  the  vicinity 
of  the  Bitter  water  in  Death  Vallej',  but  thought  from 
what  I  knew  of  the  country  I  could  guide  him 
through. 

We  started  from  Fort  Independence  with  eiglity-five 
soldiers,  and  took  with  us  the  Pah  Utah  Indian  chief, 
Joe  Bowers,  and  another  of  his  tribe,  who  were  now 
friendly  with  the  whites. 

On  our  arrival  at  Bitter  water,  the  Indian,  Joe  Bow- 
ers, told  me  he  could  show  us  water  some  twenty-five 
miles  distant,  to  which  place  we  proceeded  and  found 
it.  He  then  told  me  that  we  should  arrive  the  next  day 
at  a  mine  where  there  had  becm  about  fifteen  Americans 
assassinatt^d.  On  our  arrival  at  the  place  he  designat- 
ed, we  found  a  niin(^  where  work  had  evid(Mitly  c<^me 
to  a  sudden  stand  still.  We  found  a  tunnel  about 
sixty  feet  in  length,  with  a  pile  of  about  twenty  tons 


376  A   MURDERED    MINING   COMPANY. 

of  lead,  &c.,  lying  in  front  of  it.  There  also  was  a 
blacksmitli  shop,  with  an  anvil  remaining.  Bowers  re- 
moved all  doubt  we  might  have  had  of  the  fate  of  the 
men  who  had  worked  this  mine,  by  taking  us  to  a  shaft 
about  fifteen  feet  deep,  into  which  he  said  their  bodies 
were  thrown.  By  means  of  a  rope,  I  descended  the 
shaft  and  found  the  skeletons  of  the  miners.  We  did 
not  disturb  the  remains  of  these  unfortunate  men,  but 
filled  in  the  shaft  sufficient  to  bury  them. 

Bowers  said  that  these  miners  who  were  from  Arizo- 
na, had  been  killed  by  some  of  his  tribe  under  lead  of 
Big  Foot,  the  chief,  who  it  will  be  recollected,  was 
killed  by  Hog  Eogers.  The  Indians  were  in  the  habit 
of  trading  with  the  miners  for  liquors  and  dry  goods, 
whicli  gave  them  an  opportunity  to  learn  their  strength 
and  habits,  and  also  disaraied  the  miners  of  any  suspi- 
cion they  might  have  on  seeing  a  number  of  Indians 
in  their  camp.  A  plan  was  formed  by  Big  Foot  to 
murder  and  rob  the  party.  Bowers,  feeling  for  the 
whites,  stole  from  camp  one  night  and  told  them  they 
had  better  leave  the  place,  for  if  they  remained  they 
would  all  probably  be  murdered  by  Big  Foot  and  his 
party.  As  near  as  he  could  understand  them,  they  re- 
plied that  they  had  no  fear  of  Big  Foot,  as  they  had 
confidence  in  his  professions  of  friendship. 

One  afternoon  when  the  Indians  went  among  them, 
apparently  for  trading  purposes,  they  surprised  and 
killed  all  the  Americans,  except  one,  who  made  his  es- 
cape. This  man' s  name  was  John  Hughes ;  and,  as 
Bowers  was  somewhat  acquainted  with  him,  as  he 
spoke  Spanish,  he  made  an  effort  to  save  him,  and  pre- 
vented the  Indians  from  pursuing  him.  The  Indians 
took  away  all  the  property  in  the  camp,  even  to  the 
leather   covering  of    the  blacksmith's   beUows,  with 


DIGGER   INDIANS.  377 

the  excoption  of  four  or  five  bottles  of   quicksilver, 
some  j)icks,  shovels,  and  the  anvil. 

Joe  Bowers  here  informed  us  that  he  could  remain 
with  the  expedition  only  two  days  longer,  as  in  that 
time  we  should  arrive  within  the  limits  of  another  tribe 
of  Indians  called  the  Digger  Indians,  who  were  hostile 
to  his  tribe.  For  the  two  days  he  continued  witli  us 
he  showed  us  water  on  our  route,  and  at  the  end  of 
that  time  took  me  on  to  a  mountain  peak  and  showed 
me  in  what  direction  to  find  Fort  Mohave.  He  pointed 
to  an  Indian  trail  over  the  mountain,  and  told  me  to 
follow  it.  On  returning  to  camp,  Captain  McFarland 
gave  him  an  order  on  the  i)rop<^r  officers  at  Fort  Inde- 
pendence for  his  pay  as  guide,  and  also  a  certificate 
that  he  had  proved  truc^  to  us.  Ho  was  presented  with 
a  mule  packed  with  provisions  sufiicient  for  his  jour- 
ney, and  started  with  the  other  Indian  for  Fort  Inde- 
pendence, telling  us  that  hereafter  we  would  find  water 
sufficient  on  our  w^ay. 

We  traveled  twenty -five  miles  in  the  direction  indi- 
cated by  Bowers,  and  reached  the  Digger  tribe  of  In- 
dians, and  encamped  by  the  side  of  a  beautiful  stream 
of  water  among  the  hills.  The  Indians  were  friendly, 
and  I  found  one  half-breed  Mexican  among  them  who 
could  speak  Spanish,  and  who  agreed  to  guide  us  to 
Fort  Mohave. 

On  the  second  day  of  our  encampment,  while  the 
captain  was  engaged  in  maldng  a  survey  of  the  coun- 
try, and  a  map  of  our  travels,  &c.,  the  Indians  invited 
us  to  join  with  them  in  hunting  rabbits,  which  little 
animal  abounded  among  those  hiUs,  and  was  a  favorite 
article  of  food  with  them. 

Their  mode  of  capturing  the  rabbit  is  to  place  a  net, 
gome  one  hundred  yards  in  length,  made  of  willow 


378  A   EABBIT   HUNT. 

strips  and  bark,  with  wings  on  either  side,  of  brush, 
&G.,  as  an  obstruction.  The  Indians  go  out  in  all  di- 
rections and  scare  up  the  rabbits,  running  them  into 
the  net,  the  meshes  of  which  are  of  a  size  to  allow  a 
rabbit's  head  to  pass  through.  In  this  way  they  be- 
come entangled  and  are  killed  \\dth  clubs.  If  any  es- 
cape from  the  net  they  are  pursued,  and  then  follows 
an  amusing  scene,  as  the  Indians  in  throwing  their 
sticks  and  clubs  often  hit  each  other's  legs,  killing  the 
animals  only  after  an  exciting  chase.  When  they  ac- 
cumulate a  sufficient  number  of  rabbits,  they  make  a 
fire  of  sage  brush,  and  other  wood,  throwing  in  the 
game  just  as  it  is  caught,  and  when  cooked,  eat  the  en- 
tire animal.  It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  say  that  we 
did  not  join  in  the  feast. 

After  remaining  in  camp  three  days,  having  sufii- 
ciently  rested  ourselves  and  animals,  we  left  for  Fort 
Mohave,  tlie  half-breed  Indian  accompanying  us,  as 
guide.  We  arrived  at  the  fort  after  several  days  of 
further  travel,  liaving  gone  forty  miles  of  the  distance 
without  seeing  any  wood  or  water.  We  took  this  route  as 
it  was  much  shorter  than  that  by  the  Indian  trail,  and 
gave  us  a  better  crossing  of  the  Colorado  river.  Cap- 
tain McFarland  calculated  the  distance  from  Fort  Inde- 
p(mdence  to  this  fort  to  be  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 
Tlie  country  we  had  crossed  lays  between  the  Sierra 
Nevada  mountains  and  Arizona. 

AVe  had  been  at  the  fort  (nght  days,  when  the  man 
Hught^s,  who  had.  escaped  at  the  time  of  the  massacre 
at  the  mine  shown  us  by  Joe  Bowers,  came  in  with  a 
party  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  men,  he  had  made  up  at 
Prescott,  Arizona,  to  return  with  him  and  work  the 
mine,  which  he  represented  as  being  very  rich  in  silver 
and  lead.     This  mine,  which  was  discovered  by  a  Mex- 


PINOX   TREES   AXD    NUTS.  379 

ican,  is  called  the  Ploiuoso  mine,  the  name  signifying 
leaden.  Our  captain  made  arrangements  for  our  re- 
turn to  Fort  Independence  by  way  of  the  mine,  as  tliis 
man  Hughes  told  him  he  could  give  him  much  valua- 
ble infornuition. 

After  renuiining  several  days  longer  at  Fort  INfo- 
have  to  recruit  our  animals,  we  packed  up  and  started 
on  the  return  trip.  The  mining  party  had  preceded  us. 
and  on  our  arrival  at  the  mine,  we  found  them  ])rocu7'- 
ing  some  very  rich  metal.  We  stopped  there  a  lew 
days,  looking  about  and  prospecting,  when  Hughes 
said  if  we  would  go  with  him  he  would  take  us  to  a 
mountain  where  he  had  heard  there  were  some  very 
rich  ledges,  but  which  lu^  had  not  exjilored  on  account 
of  the  hostility  of  the  Indians  who  lived  in  that  sec- 
tion. Captain  McFarland  decided  to  accompany  him, 
and  we  started  for  the  mountain  ;  to  which,  on  our  ar- 
rival, we  gave  the  name  of  "telescope  mountain," 
from  its  being  very  high,  with  the  top  covered  with 
perpetual  snow.  The  sides  of  the  mountain  are  cover- 
ed with  trees,  called  pinon,  and  are  inhabited  by  a 
tribe  of  Indians  who  are  entirely  uncivilized. 

The  pinon  tree  bears  a  nut  about  half  the  size  of  a 
chestnut,  which  is  used  very  extensively  as  an  article 
of  food  by  the  Indians.  It  grows  in  a  pod  or  bur, 
which  contains  twenty -hv<3  or  thirt}^  nuts,  which  are 
quite  oily.  AVe  found  large  piles,  containing  many 
bushels  of  these  burs  or  pods,  covered  by  branches  of 
trees  and  leaves.  The  nuts  are  prepared  for  eating  by 
covering  cn-er  these  piles  with  dirt  and  setting  the  heap 
on  fire,  thus  keeping  a  smoukhu-ing  tire  to  bake  and 
soften  the  shells  of  the  nuts.  When  the  shells  are 
nearly  reduced  to  charcoal,  the  kernel  of  the  nut  can 
easily  be  taken  out,  and  they  are  eaten  with  great  relish 
25 


380  CAPTURE   OF   AX   INDIAN   CHILD. 

by  tlic  Indians.  We  prospected  this  mountain  for 
man}^  days  in  different  directions,  and  found  eighteen 
ledges  containing  gold,  silver  and  lead. 

From  tills  mountain  we  went  in  a  southerly  direction, 
and  came  to  a  mining  place  which  had  been  worked. 
Here  we  found  some  bones  of  men  and  a  few  mining 
implements,  and  in  the  vicinity  were  four  wild  horses, 
which  we  drove  into  a  deep  hollow,  where,  by  the  help  of 
the  soldiers,  I  secured  them  with  a  lasso.  We  return- 
ed from  this  deserted  mine  to  telescope  mountain, 
where  our  friend  Hughes  left  us  and  returned  to  his 
party. 

Captain  McFarland  selected  this  vicinity  as  a  reser- 
vation for  the  United  States  government,  deeming  the 
land  valuable  for  mining  purposes.  Our  provisions 
having  become  scarce,  we  hastened  onward  to  Fort  In- 
dependence. The  day  after  leaving  the  mountain,  we 
reached  Death  Valley,  where  we  found  some  Indian 
camps,  their  fires  still  burning,  but  no  Indians  in  sight. 
On  going  to  a  stream  of  water  near  by  one  of  these 
camps,  I  discovered  an  Indian  boy  about  four  years 
old  lying  on  the  ground,  in  a  small  bunch  of  rushes. 
As  soon  as  he  saw  me  he  started  to  run,  but  I  caught 
him  and  carried  him  to  camp.  He  was  quite  wild  and 
would  neither  talk,  c^ry,  or  eat.  After  being  with  us 
two  days  he  came  to  his  appetite  and  took  some  food. 
We  took  a  supply  of  water  and  crossed  the  desert 
ninety  miles  without  seeing  any  springs.  In  this  try- 
ing journey  we  lost  four  horses,  that  perished  from 
want  of  water.  On  our  arrival  at  the  opposite  side  of 
'the  desert,  we  saw  signs  of  water,  and  by  digging  i)ro^ 
cured  a  good  supply  for  ourselves  and  remaining  ani- 
mals.  We  camped  at  this  place  several  days,  and 
named  it  "Grape  Vine  Canyon,"  on  account  of  tho 


ANOTHER   PROSPECTING   PARTY.  381 

great  nnmbor  of  wild  grapes  in  the  vicinity.  In  cigiit 
days  after  leaving  this  canyon,  we  arrived  at  Fort  In- 
dependence. On  our  route  the  Indian  boy  made  sever- 
al unsuccessful  attempts  to  escape,  and  on  our  arrival 
at  the  fort  I  gave  him  to  a  lady,  who  nanu.'d  him 
*'Good  Luck."  Some  eight  days  after  our  arrival  at 
the  fort,  the  mother  of  this  Indian  boy  arrived  and 
claimed  the  child.  The  lady,  Mrs.  Hughes,  employed 
the  squaw  to  live  with  her  as  a  servant,  and  sent  th(3 
little  boy  to  school,  where  he  learned  English  rapidly. 
The  last  I  knew  of  tlu^ii  the  squaw  and  child  still  re- 
mained with  Mrs.  Hughes. 

After  being  paid  off  for  my  services  as  guide  and  in- 
terpreter to  Captain  JMcFarland's  expedition,  I  stayed 
about  the  vicinity  of  the  fort  a  short  time  to  recruit  my 
mules.  During  my  stay  here  I  made  the  acquaintance 
of  five  men  who  were  about  to  start,  with  a  Mexican 
guide,  for  a  mountain  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  distant,  in  the  direction  of  the  Colorado  river. 
They  stated  that  the  mountain  abounded  in  minerals, 
and  showed  me  some  specimens,  said  to  come  from 
there,  wiiich  were  very  rich.  I  concluded  to  go  with 
them,  and  we  started,  well  mounted  and  well  armed, 
for  we  felt  that  with  a  party  so  small  as  ours,  it  was 
necessary  to  take  all  precaution  for  our  safety. 

We  arrived  at  the  mountain  and  prospected  several 
days,  finding  somc^  ledges  of  silver  and  copjn^r  ore. 
We  Idlled  four  ibex  or  mountain  shec^p,  and  dried  the 
meat  to  take  with  us  in  a  furtlun*  exploration.  We 
proceeded  towards  the  Colorado  river  a  day,  and,  find- 
ing nothing,  returned  to  Slate  range,  where  I  saw  some 
min(Tal  ledges  and  coal.  From  thence  we  proceeded  to- 
wards the  Hot  Springs. 

These  springs  are  near  a  small  lake,  and  we  discov- 


332  HOT    SPRINGS. 

ered  tlieir  locality  long  before  reaching  them  from  the 
column  of  steam  which  rose  in  the  air.  When  we 
came  to  one  spring  it  was  boiling  like  a  pot  and  con- 
siderable sulphur  was  below  it,  having  been  deposited 
by  the  water  running  from  the  spring.  My  mule 
clianced  to  step  into  the  water  soon  after  it  left  the 
spring,  and  his  unusually  quick  movements  in  getting 
out  of  it  satisfied  me  it  was  warm,  to  say  the  least. 
About  twenty  yards  from  this  spot  was  a  spring  of 
pure  cold  water.  At  these  springs  and  vicinity  I  found 
many  curiosities  of  diiferent  kinds.  Four  or  five  miles 
from  the  Hot  Springs  we  found  a  mountain  or  hill  some 
three  hundred  feet  in  height,  which  is  almost  a  solid 
mass  of  matter  that  resembles  a  green  or  dark  colored 
glass  bottle,  and  we  concluded  to  call  it  the  "Glass 
Mountain."  The  appearance  of  the  ledges  and  entire 
surface  indicated  volcanic  action  at  some  former 
period. 

As  we  were  getting  short  of  provisions,  we  concluded 
to  go  at  once  to  Lone  Pine,  which  place  we  reached  in 
safety.  We  remained  at  Lone  Pine  two  weeks  recruit- 
ing and  laying  in  provisions,  and  then  vdth  several 
others  we  started  for  a  mining  camp  called  Yellow 
Pine,  near  the  town  of  Colorado.  Here  we  found  near- 
ly one  hundred  and  fifty  miners  at  work  in  the  differ- 
ent ledges.  In  prospecting  here  I  found  a  ledge  of 
silver  imbedded  in  rock  so  hard  I  could  not  break  it 
profitably,  and  sold  it  out  to  a  party  from  San  Fran- 
cisco for  four  hundred  dollars.  It  proved  to  be  a  val- 
uable mine.  I  remained  here  a  while  carrying  water 
with  my  two  jacks  to  the  miners,  which  netted  me 
about  five  dollars  per  day. 

This  added  one  more  to  the  instances  where  I 
had  made  a  discovery  of  very  valuable  mines,  which 


EXPEKIEISrCE   IN    MINING.  383 

I  was  not  abl(^  to  work  ibr  want  of  capital,  wliicli  the 
reader,  wko  lias  Ibllowed  me  through  this  narrative, 
will  recollect.  My  experience  has  been  similar  to  that 
of  most  miners  who  worked  with  little  capital.  At 
times  I  have  been  very  successful,  and  would  seem  to 
be  on  the  road  to  fortune ;  but  after  exhausting  that 
claim,  my  profits  would  all  be  melted  away  in  pros- 
pecting before  I  found  anotlier  paying  claim.  But  caj)- 
italists,  men  with  means  to  procure  the  necessary 
machinery  for  \vorking  mines  similar  to  the  one  just 
mentioned,  have  made  immense  fortunes,  where  a  man 
without  capital  could  not  have  made  enough  to  keep 
soul  and  body  together. 

While  at  Yellow  Pine  I  heard  of  some  mines  that 
were  paying  large  profits  in  the  edge  of  Lower  Califor- 
nia, about  two  hundred  miles  distant,  and  wuth  a  party 
started  for  them.     Arriving  there  we  found  wh<ne  the 
mines  had  been  worked,  and  we  eneamp<'d  near  a  small 
stream  of  w^ater  in  the  vicinity.     On  looking  around  I 
found  the  bodies  of  two  dead  miners,  whose  broken 
skulls  indicated  the  work  of  Indians.     From  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  bodies  I  judged  that  they  had  been 
kiUed  only  a  few  hours.     I  returned  to  the  men  and 
advised  preparations  for  defense.     Placing  our  provi- 
sions and  mining  implements  in  a  favorable  spot,  we 
cut  down  small  trees  and  piled  around  them  for  a  tem- 
porary breastwork  in  case  of  attack.     AVe  i)repared 
our  supper  early,  so  as  to  have  no  fire  at  night  to  at- 
tract the  attention  of  any  Indians  that  might  be  in  the 
neighborhood. 

After  supper  we  were  surprised  by  a  Mexican  woman 
coming  into  our  camp  in  great  excitemi^nt.  She  said 
she  came  from  a  small  camp  of  IMexican  miners,  a 
short  distance  below  us.     The  night  preceding,  a  party 


884  PURSUING    INDIANS. 

of  Indians,  belonging  to  the  Maricopas  tribe,  came  into 
their  camp,  pretending  to  be  friendly.  When  they  had 
an  opportunity  tliey  rose  and  attacked  the  Mexicans, 
and  she  fled  from  the  camp,  in  her  fear  not  waiting  to 
see  what  became  of  her  husband  and  child.  She  had 
remained  secreted  all  day,  and  on  coming  out  of  her 
hiding  place  at  night  had  fortunately  seen  our  camp. 
The  next  day,  about  sunset,  her  husband  came  into 
our  camp  from  New  River,  about  thirty  miles  away, 
the  nearest  settlement,  with  forty  Americans  and  Mex- 
icans he  had  been  there  to  get  to  aid  liim  in  his  search 
for  his  wife  and  child.  Her  husband  was  very  glad  to 
find  her  safe  in  our  camp,  and  inquired  where  his  child 
was.  She  told  him  slie  could  not  find  it,  and  that  the 
Indians  must  have  Idlled  it  or  taken  it  off  with  them. 
On  learning  that  I  had  had  some  experience  in  hunting 
Indians,  he  asked  me  to  join  in  the  pursuit  for  the  re- 
covery of  his  child,  but  I  replied  that  it  was  too  late 
to  start  that  night,  and  that  we  had  better  bury  the  two 
dead  men,  which  we  did.  He  said  their  names  were 
' '  Louis ' '  and  ' '  Antome ' '  — that  they  were  French  Ca- 
nadians, but  he  knew  nothing  of  their  relatives,  or 
whether  they  had  any.  They  had  been  allowed  to 
work  in  their  mine  to  make  their  party  larger  in  case 
of  attack. 

The  next  morning  early  I  accompanied  his  party  in 
pursuit  of  the  Indians,  leaving  my  party  to  guard  the 
camp  and  take  care  of  the  provisions  and  animals. 
We  struck  their  trail,  and  about  3  o'clock  that  after- 
noon I  discovered  smoke  a  short  distance  ahead  of  us. 
I  told  the  others  to  remain  where  they  were,  and  I 
would  go  up  among  the  rocks  and  ascertain  their  posi- 
tion and  strength,  and  signal  to  them  to  come  on,  if 
prudent ;  if  not,  I  would  return.     After  satisfying  my- 


THE     ATTACK.  385 

self  that  wo  were  more  than  a  match  for  the  Iiidhi  us,  I 
beckoned  to  my  companions  to  come  on  cautiously. 
When  they  had  crept  up  close  to  me,  I  pointed  out  lo 
the  father  of  tlie  lost  child  his  little  innocent  sittin<r  not 
far  from  tlie  Indians,  who  were  gathered  around  a  hrc 
feasting  on  a  mule  which  they  had  killed,  and  were 
cooking  by  roasting  pieces  over  the  fire.  I  told  tlu^m 
if  I  was  to  command  the  party  they  must  obey  orders, 
to  which  they  consented. 

My  orders  were  that  we  should  crawl  still  nearer, 
fire  on  them,  and  then  rush  in  on  them  at  once.  After 
crawlmg  about  fifty  yards  further,  wx'  all  fired,  taking 
care  not  to  hit  the  child.  I  selected  for  my  man  one 
standing  with  his  back  toward  me,  and  wlio  was  toast- 
ing a  piece  of  mule  meat  for  the  child.  My  ball  struck 
him  in  the  small  of  the  back,  and  passed  through  his 
body  into  the  fire,  scattering  the  brands.  A  friend 
near  me  fired  on  two  Indians  who  were  cutting  out 
pieces  of  the  mule,  and,  as  both  of  them  stood  in 
range,  the  ball  killed  both.  Five  other  Indians  were 
killed  at  the  first  fire  and  several  wounded.  As  w(; 
rushed  upon  them  they  fled,  leaving  the  child,  who  was 
soon  caught  up  in  the  arms  of  its  father.  When  the 
Indians  reached  the  top  of  the  hill,  they  stopped  and 
halloed  to  me  in  Spanish,  telling  me  they  were  friendly 
Indians.  I  inquired  of  what  fort  they  claimed  protec- 
tion. Tliey  replied  of  Fort  Yuma.  I  then  asked  what 
they  were  doing  in  this  i)art  of  the  country,  to  which 
they  made  no  reply.  The  cliief,  who  was  standing  on 
a  high  rock,  showed  a  paper,  which  he  said  was  given 
him  by  a  United  States  ofRcei-,  and  which  would  show 
that  they  were  friendly  ;  adding,  that  he  should  go  to 
the  fort  and  tell  how  we  had  killed  his  people.  The 
Mexican,  who  had  recovered  his  child,  raised  hi-:>  rifle 


386  ATTEMPT  TO  GAIN   TIME. 

and  shot  the  lying  chief  dead ;  saying  to  me,  he  will 
give  no  information  now.  This  talk  and  showing  of 
the  paper  was  only  a  ruse  to  gain  time  for  the  remain- 
der of  his  Indians,  who  were  not  far  off,  to  reach  them, 
wlien  they  would  attack  us.  In  half  an  hour  after,  on 
our  return,  we  were  attacked  by  about  one  hundi'ed 
and  lifty  Indians,  and  one  Mexican  of  our  party  was 
killed.  We  fought  and  retreated  back  to  our  camp, 
when,  being  joined  by  the  remainder  of  our  party,  we 
drove  off  the  Indians,  killing  a  number  and  wounding 
many.  The  meeting  of  the  mother  and  child  was  very 
affecting.  After  having  lunched  hastily  on  cold  meats, 
we  went  to  work  and  built  a  rock  fortification,  or 
breastwork,  five  feet  high,  of  rough  stones  piled  up 
carelessly,  but  it  answered  every  pui-pose. 

In  the  party  that  came  with  me  from  Colorado  dis- 
trict, California,  were  two  men  named  Jones  and  Pat- 
terson, who  were  my  especial  friends ;  and  we  three 
had  much  influence  over  the  others.  We  planned 
many  arrangements  for  the  company,  among  the  rest  a 
kind  of  supply  party,  or  express  escort,  to  get  pro- 
visions, &c.,  from  the  nearest  settlements. 

After  constructing  our  breastwork,  which  seemed 
capable  of  protecting  double  our  number,  we  consid- 
ered that  by  posting  sentinels  w^e  should  be  enabled 
to  work  the  mines  without  danger  from  attack. 

The  next  morning  we  were  startled  by  a  Mexican 
receiving  an  arrow  fired  by  some  unseen  party.  We 
sprang  for  our  guns,  and  som(^  ran  behind  the  breast- 
work, but  no  Indians  could  be  seen  in  the  brush, 
nor  could  we  find  any  after  searching  in  all  direc- 
tions. 

About  3  o'clock  that  same  afternoon,  our  camp  was 
further  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  about  twenty- 


A  GOOD  mo;ntii's  work.  387 

five  Mexicans  and  Americans,  wliicli  made  us  number 
in  all  eighty  persons,  and  we  felt  quite  secure  alb^r- 
wards.  We  were  now  ready  to  commence  mining,  and 
we  formed  a  sort  of  partnership,  each  to  share  ecpially 
in  the  prolits  of  the  whole,  to  be  divided, at  the  close  of 
each  month.  As  our  company  was  about  equally  di- 
vided— Mexicans  and  Americans — it  was  thought  best 
to  make  two  working  parties,  one  of  each  nation,  to 
avoid  any  trouble  that  might  arise  if  they  were  in  too 
close  companionship.  We  worked  in  this  way  for  a 
month  with  very  good  success,  as  it  was  found  at  th(^ 
end  of  that  time  that  we  had  made  eighty  thousand 
dollars.  This  sum,  according  to  our  agreement,  was 
divided  among  the  comjjany,  giving  to  each  man  one 
thousand  dollars.  The  news  of  our  success  was  soon 
spread  abroad,  and,  as  the  result,  large  numbers  of 
miners  soon  made  their  appearance,  attracted  by  the 
supposed  richness  of  the  mines.  The  advent  of  honest 
miners  was  all  well  enough,  but  the  news  also  brought 
an  undue  proportion  of  gamblers,  tliieves,  and  cut- 
tliroats. 

Seeing  this  unfortunate  rush  of  villains,  and  know- 
ing that  we  were  in  greater  danger  from  them  than  frpm 
the  Indians,  I  conferred  with  my  friends  Jones  and  Pat- 
terson, in  relation  to  leaving  the  place  before  we  got 
into  difficulty  or  lost  our  gold.  They  agreed  w-ith  me 
that  we  had  better  leave,  especially  as  the  mines  would 
not  yield  so  much  the  next  month  as  the  first,  for  the 
surface  gold  was  nearly  exhausted  and  the  shafts  were 
getting  deeper  and  growing  more  difficult.  The}-  asked 
me  if  we  should  return  the  way  we  came,  and  I  said 
by  no  means,  for  all  the  desperadoes  were  taking  that 
route  in  coming  here,  and  if  they  saw  us  returning 
north,  would  be  likely  to  infer  that  we  were  loaded 


388  A:N"   UlS'WELCOME   VISITOR. 

with  gold  dust,  and  try  to  assassinate  us  ;  or  we  might 
be  followed  by  some  of  the  new  comers.  We  con- 
cluded to  leave  suddenly  in  the  night,  and  by  a  differ- 
ent route.  We  started  before  daybreak  for  the  moun- 
tains, traveling  slowly  with  our  mules  for  three  or  four 
days,  prospecting  by  the  way.  At  the  end  of  this 
time  we  came  to  a  nice  gulch,  or  hollow,  where  the  ap- 
pearances were  favorable  for  gold  digging.  Game  of 
all  kinds  abounded  in  the  vicinity,  and  we  concluded 
to  remain  apd  camp  there  a  few  days  to  prospect  for 
gold,  also  to  secure  some  meat.  I  told  Jones  and  Pat- 
terson if  they  would  go  out  prospecting,  I  would  go 
out  and  kill  some  deer.  They  started  out  to  see  what 
they  could  find,  and  in  a  short  time  I  succeeded  in 
killing  two  deer,  which  I  dressed,  and  was  busy  cook- 
ing a  good  supper  from  one  of  them,  when  my  friends 
arrived.  They  reported  that  the  prospect  of  gold  was 
slim,  and  they  did  not  think  it  advisable  to  remain.. 
After  eating  supper,  we  hung  the  remainder  of  our 
venison  on  some  low  trees,  and  made  up  our  beds  for 
the  night.  This  is  a  very  simple  operation,  and  con- 
sists of  spreading  a  blanket  on  the  ground,  placing 
a  riHe  under  one  side,  and  a  revolver  under  the  end 
designed  for  the  head  of  the  bed,  to  protect  them  from 
dew  or  rain,  and  have  them  within  easy  reach  in  case 
of  need.  After  completing  our  chamber  work,  we 
seated  ourselves  about  the  fire,  smoking  and  talking 
till  about  9  o'  clock.  We  were  just  congratulating  our- 
selves on  our  escape  from  the  outlaws,  when  I  heard  a 
crackling  in  the  brush,  near  where  we  had  left  the 
mules.  I  suggested  that  there  mi^ht  be  a  grizzly  up 
then^,  but  Jones  said  it  must  be  the  animals,  and  we 
paid  no  further  attention  to  it,  but  kept  on  talking, 
when  suddenly  an  enormous  bear,  probably  attracted 


PwETALIATIOX.  389 

by  the  smell  of  our  venison,  sprang  into  our  camp,  be- 
tween us  and  our  arms,  and  laced  us.  We  were  not 
long  in  giving  up  our  quarters  to  our  unwelcome  vis- 
itor, and  Jones  and  Patterson  made  all  haste  to  get  into 
one  tree,  while  I  took  to  anotlier.  The  bear  then  vej-}' 
coolly  walked  up  to  our  meat,  and  as  he  appeared  to 
have  a  good  appetite,  did  not  leave  enough  of  it  for  a 
man's  breakfast,  when  he  turned  and  laid  down  in  the 
middle  of  one  of  our  beds,  and  composed  himself  for  a 
night's  rest.  From  our  elevated  position  we  could 
look  down  on  him,  but  it  was  with  no  kindly  feelings. 
About  da\liglit  he  got  up,  stretched  himself,  and  start- 
ed for  some  water.  Now  was  our  opportunity,  and  we 
were  not  slow  to  improve  it.  Hastily  descending  from 
the  trees,  where  we  had  been  compelled  to  pass  the 
night  in  a  way  that  did  not  tend  to  increase  our  regard 
for  our  visitor,  we  seized  our  rifles  and  cautiously  pur- 
sued him.  We  came  upon  him,  drinking  at  a  small 
stream  a  short  distance  from  our  camp,  when  Jones 
shot  him  through  the  neck,  and  I  hit  him  just  over  the 
eye,  which  killed  him  instantly.  We  dressed  him  on 
the  spot,  taking  from  him  sufficient  steak  for  breakfast, 
in  place  of  the  venison  steak  he  had  stolen  from  us, 
and  prepared  the  remainder  of  the  carcass  for  future 
use. 

After  we  had  (^aten  our  breakfast,  we  laid  down  and 
slept  till  afternoon,  when  I  went  to  look  after  our  mules. 
I  found  my  jacks  missing  and  did  not  tind  them  till  I 
had  searched  two  days,  when  I  brought  them  into  camp. 
They  were  so  frightened  by  the  bear  that  they  wander- 
ed off  farther  than  T  ever  knew  them  to  stray  bi^fore. 
In  my  travel  after  my  jacks  I  saw  several  species  of 
bears,  grizzly,  black,  and  cinnamon,  but  they  were  not 
near  by  and  I  concluded  not  to  attack  them.     During 


390 


PLENTY   OF   GAME. 


my  absence  my  friends  had  killed  a  deer,  and  I  enjoy- 
ed my  supper  of  venison  steak  very  much,  as  my  ap- 
petite was  good.  I  told  them  I  considered  that  we  were 
in  greater  danger  from  bears  in  this  vicinity  than  we 
were  from  the  desperadoes  we  left  at  the  mining  camp, 
and  to  my  mind  it  seemed  like  jumping  out  of  the  fry- 
ing pan  into  the  fire.  So  we  agreed  to  pack  up  and 
leave  these  pests,  and  go  where  we  need  not  be  on  the 
lookout  for  bears  day  and  night.  We  left  early  next 
morning  and  traveled  three  days,  in  which  time  I  think 
we  saw  more  game  in  the  way  of  bears  and  deer,  than 
I  ever  saw  before  in  my  life. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

AFTER  going  a  short  distance,  we  came  across  a 
wild  steer,  and  I  told  my  companions  that  we 
must  be  nearing  some  settlement.  The  steer  was 
frightened,  and  left  at  the  top  of  his  speed.  We  jour- 
neyed on  till  evening,  when,  seeing  a  stream  of  water, 
we  camped  for  the  night  and  j)repared  supper.  Soon 
we  heard  the  barking  of  a  dog,  and  on  looking  around 
discerned  a  light  in  the  distance,  which  seemed  to  come 
from  some  house.  Jones  wanted  to  saddle  up  and  go 
towards  it,  but  I  persuaded  him  to  remain  where  we 
were  till  morning.  Early  in  the  morning,  after  eating, 
we  proceeded  in  the  direction  of  the  light  we  had  seen 
the  evening  previous,  and  came  to  a  very  large  and 
tlirifty  looking  Mexican  ranche  and  stock  farm.  "When 
we  arrived  the  people  were  milking  the  cows,  and  on 
seeing  us  became  friglitened  and  ran  to  the  house,  but 
they  aoon  returned  and  inquired  our  business.  Among 
them  was  an  old  gray-haired  man,  who  asked  us 
what  nation  we  belonged  to.  The  reader  must  bear  in 
mind  that  we  had  on  our  mining  suits,  vdth  hat-brims 
nearly  the  size  of  a  small  umbrella ;  and  with  our  re- 
volvers hangino-  in  our  belts,  and  rifles  sluno;  ovt-r  oair 
backs,  we  must  have  presented  a  terrifying  appear- 
ance to  civilized  people. 

We  answered  the  old  man,  who  seemed  to  be  the 
owner  of  the  place,  and  looked  old  enou(?h  to  be  a 
rival  of  ]\fethuselah,  that  we  were  Americans,  travel- 
ing towards  the  coast  in  hopes  of  finding  a  seaport 


392  HOSPITABLE  miENDS. 

town  or  settlement  of  some  sort.  He  replied  that  he 
had  heard  of  Americans  but  had  never  seen  one 
before.  Probably  few  people  had  ever  seen  just  such 
looldng  Americans  as  we  were.  We  conversed  freely 
in  Spanish,  and  told  him  not  to  be  frightened  in  the 
least,  for  we  should  not  harm  him  or  his  family,  but 
would  like  to  buy  some  milk  if  he  could  spare  it.  He 
said  he  never  sold  anything  to  travelers,  but  that  we 
were  welcome  to  anything  on  his  place.  He  invited 
us  into  the  house,  and  showed  us  a  room  where  we 
could  make  ourselves  comfortable,  and  offered  to  send 
US  some  milk  at  once.  He  sent  us  three  wooden  bowls 
and  three  wooden  spoons,  a  bucket  of  milk,  and  a 
sack  of  pinola,  which  is  a  kind  of  meal  made  by 
pounding  parched  corn  in  a  mortar. 

We  told  the  old  man  we  would  like  to  remain  with 
him  a  few  days  to  recruit  our  animals.  To  this  he 
readily  consented,  and  when  the  time  came  for  us  to 
leave  he  insisted  that  we  should  tarry  longer.  As  he 
insisted  upon  it,  we  remained  about  a  month,  the  old 
man  enjoying  my  Spanish  conversation,  and  delighted 
to  hear  of  our  adventures. 

The  old  man  gave  us  an  invitation,  after  we  had  been 
there  some  time,  to  accompany  his  family  in  gathering 
prickly  pears.  We  willingly  accepted  the  invitation, 
for  the  old  man  had  some  interesting  daughters  who 
desired  us  to  go  as  much  as  he  did.  He  told  us  not  to 
touch  the  pears,  but  to  let  his  servants  pick  them,  as 
they  had  the  tools  to  do  it  with,  but  we  could  not  do  it 
with  our  hands.  My  friend  Patterson  thought  he 
M^ould  try  and  gather  a  few,  and  did  so.  Attempting 
to  taste  one  he  got  his  mouth  so  full  of  prickles  that 
he  was  busy  that  day  in  getting  them  out.  We  got 
back  to  the  house  towards  evening,  having  passed  a 


A  FRIEND   IX   A   DEER  TRAP.  393 

very  pleasant  day.  One  day,  in  riding  out  some  miles 
from  the  house  with  our  aged  host,  1  had  my  rille 
along.  The  old  man  said  he  had  seen  guns  beror<', 
but  never  saw  one  used,  and  was  ver}^  anxious  that  I 
should  show  him  the  effect  of  a  shot.  A  deer  started 
up  within  long  range,  when  I  shot  him  through,  much 
to  the  astonishment  of  my  companion.  We  tied  the 
deer  to  my  saddle  and  returned  to  tlie  house. 

The  manner  of  catching  deer  in  that  country  is  -with 
a  spring-pole  and  a  snare.  One  evening  Mr.  Jones 
invited  one  of  the  daughters  to  take  a  walk  with  him 
into  the  woods  to  look  around  a  little,  and  have  some 
private  conversation;  for  both  of  my  friends  had 
jiicked  up  considerable  Spanish,  and  could  talk  with 
the  girls.  Suddenly  Mr.  Jones  found  himself  elevated 
in  the  air  about  ten  feet,  and  hanging  by  one  leg,  hav- 
ing accidentally  stepped  his  foot  into  one  of  these 
spring  traps.  The  girl  by  his  side  screamed,  but  could 
not  extricate  him ;  and  Patterson  and  myself,  who 
were  strolling  about  at  no  great  distance,  hearing  the 
noise  went  to  his  assistance.  On  our  return  to  the 
house,  the  joke  was  too  good  to  keep,  and  we  gave  the 
old  man  a  full  description  of  the  affair,  at  which  he 
laughed  heartily,  and  asked  Jones  if  he  did  not  think 
these  spring  traps  better  than  guns,  as  tliey  saved 
using  powder. 

Our  host  invited  us  one  day  to  take  a  ride  and  look 
at  his  stock.  The  cattle  were  to  be  gathered  from  the 
plain,  driven  into  a  large  field  which  was  enclosed  by 
a  high  fence,  and  such  as  required  it  caught  and 
brand(>d.  This  is  an  annual  custom  in  that  section, 
and  at  this  time  all  new  cattle  and  such  of  the  increase 
of  the  herd  as  have  arrived  at  a  proper  age  are  brand- 
ed.    He  inquired  if  I  understood  using  the  lasso.     I 


PLEADING   A   FRIEND' S   CAUSE.  395 

least  for  tliat  purpose.  For  liis  part,  lie  tliouglit  he 
could  marry  parties  as  well  as  priests,  for  mutual  love 
and  consent  were  the  main  points  ;  the  rest  was  of 
small  consequence. 

After  we  had  retired  for  the  night,  Mr.  Pattcrscjn 
made  the  remark  that  he  thought  he  should  have  to 
employ  the  old  Indian  priest  to  marry  him  to  one  of 
the  girls.  This  was  such  a  surj)rise  to  me  that  I  ask(»d 
him  if  he  was  in  earnest  or  joking.  He  said  he  meant 
it,  but  did  not  know  how  to  approach  the  old  man  on 
the  subject ;  but  as  far  the  girl  was  concerned,  she  was 
willing  enough,  he  knew  !  I  asked  Patterson  if  it  was 
not  a  pretty  short  acquaintance,  when  he  laughed  and 
said  it  was,  rather,  but  they  had  improved  every  min- 
ute and  made  rapid  progress  in  their  courtship.  He 
thought  the  risk  on  his  part  was  trilling  comj^ared  to 
the  girF  s,  and  there  was  nothing  like  trj'ing,  anyhow. 
He  thought  the  girl  would  marry  him  out  of  pure  love, 
for  he  confessed  there  was  nothing  attractive  about  his 
appearance.  He  begged  me,  as  I  could  talk  Spanish 
better  than  he,  and  had  more  influence  with  her  father, 
to  say  a  good  word  for  him  th(,'  next  morning  after  he 
had  mustered  courage  to  ask  his  consent,  which  I 
agreed  to  do. 

After  breakfast,  he  approached  the  old  gent  on  the 
subject,  to  which  he  r(^plied  that  if  the  girl  was  wil- 
ling, and  Patterson  would  agree  to  stay  there  and  live 
with  him,  he  had  no  objections.  I  was  taken  aside  by 
him  and  asked  if  I  knew  Patterson's  history,  and 
whether  he  had  a  wife  already.  My  answer  was  that 
T  knew  nothing  of  him  except  for  a  few  weeks,  but 
liked  him  and  believed  he  was  an  honest  man  ;  also, 
that  he  had  often  represented  to  me  that  he  was  a  sin- 
gle man. 

26 


396  A   SINGULAR   WEDDING. 

The  Sunday  following  was  fixed  upon  for  tlie  marri- 
age, and  on  that  day  they  were  duly  united.  The  old 
Indian  who  pronounced  them  man  and  wife  was  about 
as  brief  in  his  ceremonies  as  he  was  unintelligible,  for 
his  language  was  a  compound  of  several  tongues,  viz. : 
Indian,  Spanish,  and  Latin  ;  but  the  bride  and  groom 
were  apparently  impressed  with  the  important  fact  that 
they  had  undergone  some  strange  transformation  !  We 
had  a  fine  dinner  served,  and  after  that  a  dance,  which 
was  enlivened  by  occasional  sips  of  domestic  wine, 
some  of  which  was  so  old  that  the  year  of  its  manu- 
facture was  forgotten.  For  music  we  had  the  services 
of  two  Indians,  one  of  whom  played  on  a  flute  made 
of  a  sugar  cane,  and  the  other  had  a  fiddle  of  his  own 
construction,  made  more  for  wear  than  for  fine  music 
— particularly  wear  of  the  nerves.  We  tried  to. keep 
step  to  the  music,  but  owing  to  the  grape  juice  or  the 
quick  motions  of  the  musicians,  we  made  rather  con- 
fused work  of  it.  The  dance  was  concluded  by  mid- 
night, at  which  liour  Jones  and  I  retired  to  our  room 
to  consult  in  Regard  to  the  policy  of  resuming  our 
journey,  and  to  mourn  the  loss  of  our  genial  and 
clever  companion,  Patterson. 

The  next  day  we  announced  that  our  visit  among 
our  hospitable  friends  was  about  to  end,  and  we 
were  obliged  to  leave.  The  old  gentleman  insisted 
that  w(3  should  remain  Avith  him,  but  we  told  him 
we  had  more  important  business  to  attend  to.  He 
requested  us  to  stay  until  he  could  furnish  us  with 
provisions  for  our  journey,  as  it  was  a  long  distance  to 
a  seaport  where  commnnicntion  by  steamer  with  Cali- 
fornia was  possible,  and  advised  us  to  go  to  La  Paz, 
at  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula  of  Lower  Cali- 
fornia, as  he  had  understood  the  California  steamers 


PEARL   DIVERS.  397 

touched  there.  Accordingly  wo  staid  two  days  longer, 
during  which  he  had  a  beef  killed,  and  prepared  from 
it  a  quantity  of  dried  strips,  which,  witli  many  other 
things,  he  presented  us  for  our  comfort  on  the  way, 

Tli(i  morning  we  left  he  presented  us  with  two  fine 
saddle  horses,  with  the  remark  that  it  was  foolish  to 
travel  on  mules  or  jacks  in  a  country  where  horses 
were  so  plenty.  We  offered  to  pay  for  the  horses,  but 
he  said  we  were  welcome  to  them.  He  also  gave  us 
directions  for  the  route  to  La  Paz,  which  was  about 
three  hundred  miles  distant,  for  we  were  not  far  from 
the  center  of  the  peninsula  of  Lower  California. 

We  then  bade  our  friend  Patterson  and  the  family 
good  bye,  leaving  our  mules  with  Patterson  and 
mounting  our  new  horses,  and  leading  our  jacks,  we 
headed  due  south  for  La  Paz,  which  port  we  reached 
in  eight  days,  suffering  considerably  for  want  of  water 
on  the  route.  On  reaching  La  Paz  we  found  revolu- 
tionary disturbances  among  the  ^Mexicans  there,  one 
party  sustaining  and  the  other  opposing  Governor 
Dominguez.  He  learned  of  our  arrival  and  invited  us 
to  co-operate  with  him  in  his  cause,  but  we  declined 
on  the  ploa  that  w(^  were  there  for  a  day  or  two  only 
and  should  leave  by  the  first  steamer.  As  there  was 
no  steamer  in  port,  and  we  thought  it  dang(M-ous  to 
remain  there,  we  w^ent  northerly  on  the  coast  of  the 
Californian  Gulf  to  a  small  port  called  Licenal,  where 
we  saw  many  Indians  and  Mexicans  engaged  in  pearl 
diving,  and  some  of  them  possessed  a  fiiculty  of  n>main- 
ing  undiT  water  for  a  long  time.  One  of  th(^  divers 
was  caught  by  a  shark,  and  I  saw  him  devoured.  I  pur- 
chased tw^o  pearls  from  the  divers,  paying  twenty-five 
dollars  for  them,  one  of  wdiich  was  about  the  size  of  a 
common  grape. 


398  VISIT   TO   GUAYMAS. 

Here  we  changed  our  minds  about  going  to  Califor- 
nia, and  concluded  to  cross  the  gulf  to  Guaymas,  in 
Sonora,  and  visit  my  old  friends.     We  were  partly  in- 
fluenced to  this  decision  hy  seeing  the  captain  of  a 
small  vessel,  who  was  bound  for  Guaymas  and  urged  us 
to  go  along  with  him.  We  had  some  difficulty  in  getting 
our  animals  on  board,  but  the  captain  and  crew  finally 
succeeded.      Arriving  at    Guaymas  and   getting  ac- 
quainted there  with  the  commander  of  an  English  ves- 
sel in  ])ort,  I  sold  him  my  two  pearls  for  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars.     We  remained  in  Guaymas  several 
days,  visiting  some  of  my  friends,  then  proceeded  to- 
wards the  interior  of  the  state,  stopping  awhile  at  a 
mining  camp  called  Brunces.     At  these  mines  they 
extract  the  silver  from  the  lead  by  smelting  the  whole 
in  a  furnace,  running  in  into  pigs,  after  which  the  sil- 
ver is  easily  separated.     Other  ledges  in  the  vicinity, 
where  the  silver  is  mixed  with  the  rock,  are  worked  by 
the  amalgamation  process.     In  this  process  the  ore  and 
rock  are  first  pulverized  and  mixed  with  quicksilver 
and  water,  when  the  whoh;  is  well  worked  together  by 
being  placed  in  a  vat  and  stirred  up  by  a  wheel  or  ro- 
tary machine,  when  the  metals  settle  to  the  bottom  and 
the  rcx^use  passes  out  with  the  water  when  drawn  ofi", 
when  the  silver  and  quicksilver  are  gathered  into  a 
cloth  and  pressed,  which  partly  separates  them.     The 
operation  is  completed  by  heating  the  remainder  quite 
hot,  when  the  silver  rises  to  the  top. 

From  here  we  went  to  the  Pimos  Indian  village, 
which  is  a  collection  of  adobe  houses.  They  are 
square,  and  the  door  or  entrance  is  in  the  roof.  On 
the  edge  of  the  roof,  all  around,  is  a  wall  pierced  with 
portholes  for  defense.  They  enter  the  house  by  a  lad- 
der,  and  when  they  reach  the  roof  they  draw  the 


PIMOS   AND   OPOTO   VILLAGES.  399 

ladder  up  after  thorn.  This  tribe  is  industrious,  rais- 
ing corn,  wlieat,  and  vegetables ;  they  are  small  in 
statui'o,  quite  dark  in  color,  and  flat  nosed,  but 
friendly  and  hospitable.  Nearly  all  of  these  Indians 
speak  Spanish.  Tlieir  chief  amusement  is  in  playing 
ball,  using  a  large  indiarubber  ball  weighing  seven  or 
eiglit  pounds.  In  plajing,  when  the  ball  bounds  they 
strike  it  with  tlieir  hips  instead  of  a  club.  W<^  stop- 
ped several  days  with  the  chief,  whose  name  was 
Mattio,  and  he  made  us  welcome,  taking  no  pay  for 
his  hospitalit3^  When  we  were  preparing  to  leave,  he 
asked  us  which  way  we  were  going,  and  when  I  re- 
plied to  the  Opoto  village,  he  said  it  was  unsafe  for  us 
to  go  without  an  escort  on  a(;('ount  of  the  Apaches, 
and  furnished  ten  of  his  warriors  to  accomx)any  us. 
He  also  furnished  abundant  provision  for  our  journey. 

About  midway  between  the  two  villages  we  encoun- 
tered a  dozen  Apache  Indians  who  were  driving  about 
twenty-five  head  of  cattle  and  several  mules  and  jacks. 
We  fired  on  them  and  killed  two  of  their  number,  the 
rest  fleeing  and  leaving  their  animals  in  our  posses- 
sion. We  hurried  on  with  our  captured  beasts  for 
fear  of  some  larger  force  of  Apaches  who  might  pur- 
sue us.  Arriving  at  the  Opoto  village,  our  Indian 
escort  reported  that  we  had  two  Apache  scalps,  which 
caused  a  general  rejoicing  throughout  the  village.  We 
were  then  taken  to  the  house  of  the  chief,  and  our 
stock  put  in  a  pen,  when  we  received  from  him  a  cor- 
dial welcome  ;  for  he  was  hostile  towards  the  Apaches, 
and  was  rejoiced  to  see  their  scalps. 

The  chief  said  they  must  have  a  dance  over  the 
scalps  that  night,  and  asked  Jones  and  myself,  with 
our  escort,  to  join  them.  At  the  dance  they  produced 
some  liquor  which  they  called  mascal,  which  is  made 


400  DANCING    OVEK   SCALPS. 

from  a  plant  that  grows  similar  to  a  cabbage,  which 
yields  a  fruit  which  is  pounded  and  the  juice  extracted 
iind  fermented  by  placing  in  rawhide  vessels  which  are 
liuno-  in  the  sun.     We  divided  the  cattle  and  mules 
taken  from  tlie  Apaches,  with  tlie  Indians  who  accom- 
])anied  us,  and  told  the  chief  to  km  two  or  three  of  our 
cattle  for  the  feast   that  night,  which  was  done.     A 
large  fire  was  built  up  near  the  dancing  ground,  and 
the  dressed  beeves  were  placed  near  by.     When  any- 
one Avished  to  eat  they  would  cut  pieces  from  the  beef 
and  roast  it  for  themselves  by  holding  it  over  the  fire 
on  sticks.     The  two  scalps  were  elevated  on  tall  poles 
in  the  center  of  a  ring,  around  which  they  danced. 
Several  hundred  Indians  — men,  women,  and  children 
—  were    dancing  at  the  same  time,   which   afforded 
Jones  and  myself  much  amusement.      By  midnight 
the  majority  of  the  party  were   drunk,   and  at  one 
o'clock  Jones  and  I  went  to  bed  ;  but  when  we  arose 
in  the    morning  the  dance  was   still    going  on  and 
nothing  left  of  the  two  beeves  except  the  bones,  much 
of  the  meat  having  been  wasted.     The  chief,  by  our 
direction,  had  two  more  of  our  beeves  killed.     We 
made  some  coffee  for  breakfast  and  gave  the  chief 
some,  which  he  said  was  the  first  he  ever  tasted ;  he 
called  it  very  fine.     This  feasting  and  dancing  contin- 
ued three  nights,  and  at  the  end  of  it  our  friendly  es- 
cort said  they  must  return  to  their  village.     When 
asked  how  much  we  should  pay  them  for  their  services 
as  escort,  they  said  they  were  well  paid  by  the  division 
of  the  captured  animals,  and  started  on  their  return 
perfectly  satisfied. 

The  Opoto  Indians  are  friendly  to  whites,  but  are 
not  civilized  to  any  great  extent,  and  they  dwell  in 
caves  or  rude  huts.     They  are  inferior  in  appearance, 


A   chief's   opinion   of   AMERICANS.  401 

with  low  foreheads,  the  hair  growing  down  near  tlic 
eyebrows.  They  raise  very  little  grain,  living  chieflj 
by  hunting.  Tlie  chief  inquired  if  we  were  Americans, 
and  when  tohl  that  we  were,  he  said  the  Mexicans  liad 
represented  tliat  Americans  were  a  bad  people,  but 
they  must  be  mistaken,  for  he  thought  if  we  were  a  fair 
sample  they  were  the  best  people  he  ever  knew.  He 
showed  me  some  fine  gold  in  a  goose  quill,  and  said  it 
came  from  rich  mines  in  the  limits  of  his  tribe,  but  lie 
kept  tlie  matter  secret  for  fear  of  being  overrun  witli 
the  Mexican  miners.  His  tribe  had  learned  tlie  value 
of  gold  by  being  able  to  })uichase  clothing  and  sui> 
plies  with  it  from  the  Mexicans. 

We  bade  this  chief  adieu,  and  presented  him  what 
remained  of  our  share  of  the  cattle  captured  from  the 
Apaches.  We  were  held  in  high  esteem  by  him  before 
we  made  him  this  present,  but  afterwards  he  was  anx- 
ious to  do  all  he  could  for  us ;  and  when  we  started 
towards  Arizona  Territory,  he  furnished  an  escort  of 
twenty  men,  who  wen?  very  willing  to  accompany  us, 
to  the  next  tribe  of  Publanos.  After  presenting  us  to 
the  chief  of  this  tribe,  who  received  us  very  kindly, 
our  escort  returned. 

In  this  trip,  after  leaving  Guaymas  we  had  two  ob- 
jects in  view :  one  of  which  was  to  reach  Fort  Bu- 
chanan in  Arizona,  ultimately,  and  tlien  return  to 
California,  revisiting  c(n'tain  mineral  ledges  I  had  dis- 
covered in  my  former  travels.  Another  object  was  to 
make  an  exploration  among  certain  friendly  Indian 
tribes,  on  our  way  to  Arizona  Territory  ;  and  our  route 
in  northern  Mexico  was  thus  necessarily  circuitous,  for 
we  often  went  out  of  our  way  to  see  some  new  tribe,  or 
visit  some  new  mines  we  heard  of.  As  we  were  not 
burdened  with  cares  of  family  or  propert}^  we  shaped 


402  THE  PUBLANOS. 

our  course  according  to  our  inclinations,  going 
wherever  there  was  a  prospect  of  finding  anything  en- 
tertaining. 

We  visited  the  Publanos,  as  we  heard  much  in  their 
favor  from  tlie  Indians  we  had  left.  We  found  them 
an  agricultural  people,  with  a  nice  village,  catholic 
church,  &c.  They  raise  corn,  wheat,  and  vegetables ; 
have  some  peach,  apple,  and  pear  orchards.  They 
have  many  mills,  for  grinding  their  grain,  which  are 
very  rude,  and  are  propelled  by  mule  power,  the  grain 
being  fed  to  the  mill  by  the  hand  of  a  squaw.  One 
of  these  mills  will  ordinarily  grind  about  two  bushels 
of  grain  per  day  ;  but  this  amount  can  be  increased 
somewhat,  in  case  of  necessity.  These  Indians  are 
copper-colored,  with  roman  nose,  and  high  foreheads, 
showing  intelligence  in  their  features  and  actions  ;  and 
many  of  them  speak  Spanisli,  and  some  have  blue 
eyes.  They  have  a  justice  of  the  peace,  independent 
of  their  chief,  whose  emblem  of  authority  is  a  gold 
headed  staff.  Wlien  a  trial  is  to  come  off,  an  assistant 
of  this  justice  carries  the  staff  to  summon  the  parties 
to  appear  before  the  court.  The  sight  of  the  staff  is 
in  effect  the  same  as  a  warrant.  When  the  parties  are 
all  assembled  evidence  is  heard  and  cases  decided  ac- 
cording to  the  testimony.  I  saw  four  Indians  shack- 
led at  the  ankles  sweeping  the  streets,  under  sentence 
of  tliis  justice,  in  punishment  for  disobeying  laws  of 
the  tribe.  These  Indians  ar(.'  called  quite  honest  in 
their  business  dealings,  and  we  had  a  pleasant  visit 
with  the  cliief  for  a  day  oi-  two. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  other  tribes  we  had  visited,  the 
chief  urged  us  to  stay  longer,  when  he  found  we  in- 
tended to  leave,  and  on  our  departure  furnished  us 
with  a  party  as  escort  and  guides  to  our  next  stopping 


saints'  week.  403 

place.  After  the  escort  was  provided  we  packed  our 
animals  and  went  to  Magdalena,  a  Spanish  town,  where 
we  found  the  Mexicans  indulging  in  the  ceremonies  of 
Samts'  wiM'k.  They  had  a  great  procession,  at  the 
head  of  which  was  a  priest,  followed  by  four  young 
ladies  carrying  a  figure  representing  Christ  on  a  bier, 
and  besid(^  it  another  figure  representing  the  Virgin 
Mary,  also  borne  by  young  ladies ;  and  each  one  in 
the  procession  w^as  carrying  a  lighted  wax  candle.  At 
short  int(»rvals  the  procession  halted,  when  all  would 
loieel  and  repeat  their  prayers.  The  march  through 
the  towTi  occupied  about  three  hours,  when  they  all 
returned  to  the  church,  where  they  deposited  the  fig- 
ures of  Christ  and  the  Virgin  Maiy  within  the  altar. 
The  ceremonies,  varying  with  each  day,  lasted  from 
Monday  till  Sabbath  morning.  Ko  one  was  allowed  to 
eat  meat  during  the  time,  no  bell  was  allowed  to  be 
rung,  all  amusements  or  indulgence  of  the  passions 
was  strictly  forbidden,  and  no  one  was  allowed  to  ride 
or  use  an  animal  in  the  streets.  A  party  of  men  pa- 
raded through  the  town  armed  with  sabres,  knives, 
and  otlier  weapons,  to  enforce  the  orders  of  the  church. 
On  Friday  the  figure  of  Christ  was  placed  in  a  coffin, 
in  the  altar  of  the  church,  and  the  coffin  covered  with 
wreaths  and  bouquets  of  fiowers,  where  it  remained 
until  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  Sabbath  day,  when 
it  was  taken  from  the  coffin  and  placed  in  its  position 
to  show  that  he  had  risen  from  the  dead,  at  which  hour 
all  the  bells  in  the  place  began  to  ring,  and  the  people 
commenced  shouting  and  singing  with  joy.  Just  then 
a  figure  representing  Judas  Iscariot  was  brought  out 
and  mounted  on  an  ass.  A  rope  was  stretched  across 
the  street  and  the  effigy  was  hung  to  it,  amid  the 
shouts  of  the  populace.    The  figure  was  filled  with  fire- 


404  PLANCHA   LA   FLATUS. 

works,  which,  by  some  slow  fuse  arrangement,  fmallj 
exploded  and  blew  the  thing  in  pieces,  which  was  tlie 
grand  finale  of  these  religious  ceremonies.  When  this 
was  over,  the  Mexicans  commenced  horse-racing,  cock- 
tighting,  drinking,  gambling,  dealing  monte,  and  play- 
ing all  manner  of  games,  which  lasted  for  another 
week.  My  friend  Jones  and  I  enjoyed  ourselves  for 
these  two  weeks  looking  on  as  spectators.  The  latter 
week  we  attended  several  fandangoes  or  dances,  and 
made  some  acquaintances. 

We  met  here  two  Americans,  named  White  and  Mul- 
ligan, who  told  us  of  a  mountain  district  near  the 
Arizona  line  called  Plancha  La  Flatus  (meaning  iron 
and  silver),  where  they  had  been  with  a  small  party, 
but  had  been  driven  off  by  Indians.  They  stated  that 
the  mountain  abounded  with  minerals,  including  silver 
ledges.  On  inquiry  we  found  that  several  Mexicans  in 
Magdalena  knew  of  the  mines,  and  had  been  to  the 
mountain ;  but  they  were  also  driven  off.  White 
thought  we  had  better  raise  a  party  and  go  there  ;  and 
as  Jones  and  Mulligan  were  ready,  I  consented  to  join 
them,  and  we  hired  twelve  Mexicans  as  guides  and 
escort.  Jones  and  I  had  eight  pack  animals,  which 
we  loaded  with  supplies  and  started  off,  our  party 
numbering  sixteen,  all  armed,  and  ready  for  mining  or 
fighting  Indians.  On  arriving  at  the  place,  we  found 
plenty  of  lead  and  iron,  with  occasional  silver  ledges. 
At  the  foot  of  the  mountain  we  discovered  some  ancient 
ruins,  indicating  that  the  mines  had  been  worked  for- 
merly. We  also  found  some  wild  cattle  and  hogs. 
We  encamped  inside  of  some  old  walls,  and  arranged 
the  place  for  our  defense  in  case  of  attack.  After  per- 
fecting these  arrangements  I  took  my  rifle  and  went 
out  in  search  of   game,   and  found  a  fat  wild  cow, 


PKOPOSAL  TO  THE  GOVERNOR  OF  SONORA,  405 

wliicli  I  sliot.  While  dressing  lier  I  heard  a  noise  on 
the  hill  near  by,  and  on  looking  up  I  saw  twelve 
Apache  Indians  driving  and  leading  about  forty  head 
of  horses.  I  liid  behind  a  rock  and  they  did  not  dis- 
cover me,  though  they  passed  within  a  hundred  yards. 
When  they  were  out  of  sight  I  returned  to  camp,  where 
I  procured  help,  and  went  back  and  secured  my  be(< 
and  brought  it  into  camp.  Afterwards  I  kept  a  good 
lookout  for  Indians.  In  prospecting  in  this  vicinity  I 
saw  several  shafts  which  had  been  worked,  and  found 
metals  of  different  kinds,  making  selections  of  many 
choice  specimens.  Some  ledges  appeared  to  be  nearly 
pure  lead.  We  had  been  here  eight  days,  when  the 
Mexicans  said  they  could  not  risk  staj^ing  any  longer 
for  fear  of  the  Indians.  The  Apaches  had  a  regular 
trail  which  passed  near  our  mines,  and  they  had  mur- 
dered all  miners  that  they  came  in  contact  with.  We 
had  seen  skulls  and  other  human  bones  in  that  vicinity, 
and  the  sight  of  them  made  the  Mexicans  rather  fear- 
ful. We  therefore  returned  to  INIagdalena,  where  our 
specimens  were  tested  and  pronounced  valuable,  some 
yielding  as  high  as  two  tliousand  dollars  per  ton. 

I  wrote  to  the  governor  of  Sonora,  saying  that  if  he 
would  furnish  troops  we  would  return  and  work  the 
mines,  and  divide  the  profits  with  him.  In  reply,  he 
wrote  that  he  would  see  if  it  was  possible,  and  infoi-m 
me  in  the  course  of  a  month.  In  about  two  weeks  he 
wrote  me  that  he  had  not  the  troops  to  spare,  as  there 
was  a  revolution  or  political  rising  in  some  parts  of  his 
state,  which  called  for  all  the  troops  he  had.  We  saw 
no  way  of  organizing  a  force  of  citizens  sufficiently 
strong  to  defend  ourselves  against  three  or  four  thou- 
sand Apache  warriors  in  the  district  we  left,  therefore 
we  disbanded  our  company. 


406  AN   ESCAPED   PEISONEE. 

Myself  and  friend  Jones  then  started  for  Fort  Bu- 
chanan in  Arizona,  taking  no  escort  this  time,  as  the 
route  was  much  safer  and  there  was  considerable  travel 
from  Magdelena  to  Fort  Buchanan.  Still  we  kept  on  the 
alert  for  Apaclies,  who  often  attacked  travelers  by  this 
route.  The  Apaches  are  the  only  tribe  I  ever  had  a 
lasting  dislike  to.  This  may  be  partly  the  result  of 
being  so  long  associated  with  their  enemies,  the  Co- 
manches,  but  the  principal  reason  for  it  was  their  low 
treachery,  for  one  never  knew  when  to  believe  their 
assurances  of  friendship.  At  all  events,  I  dreaded  a 
meeting  with  them,  unless  I  had  some  support,  more 
than  with  any  other  tribe. 

On  our  way  we  stopped  over  night  at  Santa  Cruz, 
where  the  Mexicans  told  us  the  Indians  were  plenty, 
ahead  of  us,  and  advised  us  to  be  on  the  watch  for 
them.  At  our  next  camping  place,  while  I  was  cook- 
ing supper,  a  Mexican  girl,  about  fifteen  years  old, 
came  suddenly  upon  us.  We  started  up  in  surprise  at 
the  appearance  of  this  half-naked,  bare-footed  girl. 
She  said  she  had  run  away  in  the  night  from  some  In- 
dians who  had  captured  her.  She  was  washing  clothes 
at  a  small  stream,  near  her  home,  about  thirty-five 
or  forty  miles  distant,  when  two  Indians  stole  care- 
fully up  and  carried  her  off.  When  she  saw  the  smoke 
of  our  fire  she  hesitated  about  approaching ;  but  see- 
ing from  our  appearance  that  we  were  not  Indians,  she 
had  concluded  to  throw  herself  on  our  protection  and 
ask  us  to  assist  her  in  reaching  her  home,  where  she 
had  a  widowed  mother,  with  no  brothers  or  sisters. 
She  feared  her  mother  would  be  suffering  great  anxiety 
on  account  of  her  absence.  We  gave  her  some  food, 
and,  as  it  was  early  in  the  evening,  we  repacked  our 
animals  and  started  with  the  girl  for  San  Antonio,  a 


CAPTIVE   RESTORED    TO   FRIENDS.  407 

mining  place  about  ten  miles  distant.  Her*'  we  placed 
the  girl  under  the  charge  of  Mrs.  Hatch,  whose  hus- 
band was  foreman  of  the  suK^ting  works.  Tlie  giil  said 
she  belonged  at  Sycamore  Ranche,  and,  Mr.  Hatch, 
after  providing  her  with  clothing  and  necessaries  for 
her  comfort,  concluded  to  send  her  home  the  next  day 
witli  a  i^roper  guard,  and  requested  me  to  accompany 
them.  A  party  of  eight  mounted  mon  volunteered  to 
go  with  me  and  the  girl  to  her  home,  which  we  reached 
without  seeing  any  Indians.  Th(;  mother  of  the  girl 
had  nearly  desj^airc^d  of  ever  seeing  her  again,  and  her 
meeting  with  her  child  was  very  affecting.  She  was  so 
grateful  for  the  part  I  had  taken  in  her  return,  that  she 
urged  me  to  take  one  of  her  mules  as  a  present.  This 
I  at  first  declined  to  do,  as  I  wished  no  reward  for 
what  I  looked  upon  as  an  act  of  simple  humanity  ;  but 
when  I  found  that  she  was  d(^e])ly  grieved  b}'  my  re- 
fusal, I  accepted  it.  She  had  a  large  amount  of  stock, 
and  since  the  death  of  her  husband  had  carried  on  a 
very  successful  business  of  stock  raising,  hy  the  help 
of  Mexican  servants. 

We  returned  to  San  Antonio  after  receiving  the  bles- 
sing of  the  old  lady,  and  the  warmest  thanks  of  the 
daughter,  who  appeared  to  be  very  well  bred  and  quite 
a  modest  girl.  At  the  mines  we  were  advised  not  to 
proceed  to  Fort  Buchanan  alone,  as  two  men  like  us 
would  be  in  great  danger  of  attack  from  Indians. 
Hearing  that  government  soldiers,  were  exi)ected  to 
arrive  soon  from  the  fort  with  supplies  for  the  miners, 
we  waited  a  day  or  two  and  returned  with  them  to  Fort 
Buchanan. 

On  our  arrival  at  the  fort  a  report  came  in  that  ten 
or  twelve  men,  women  and  children  had  been  assassin- 
ated by  the  Apaches  on  the  St.  Peter' s  river.      Jones 


408  A  TIMID  MAJOR. 

and  myself  were  invited  by  Major  Cremona  of  the 
fort  to  accompany  a  party  of  twenty -two  citizens  and  a 
squad  of  soldiers,  led  by  him,  in  pursuit  of  the  mur- 
derers. On  reaching  the  place  a  shocking  sight  pre- 
sented itself.  The  people  were  murdered  and  scalped, 
and  their  property  and  stock  taken  away.  We  fol- 
lowed the  trail  of  the  Indians  two  days,  when  Major 
Cremona  proposed  to  give  up  the  pursuit  for  fear  the 
party  would  suffer  for  want  of  rations  before  they  got 
back  to  the  fort.  I  objected  to  returning,  saying  that 
he  had  small  sympathy  for  the  dead  or  their  friends, 
to  stop  now  when  we  were  so  near  the  Indians  ;  for  I 
was  sure  they  could  not  be  far  in  advance  of  us,  as 
they  had  to  drive  the  cattle  they  had  stolen,  and  we 
were  weU  mounted.  I  added,  that  when  we  overtook 
them,  the  cattle  would  furnish  us  sufficient  food  ;  and 
if  the  worst  should  happen,  I  could  eat  mule  meat,  as 
I  had  done  before.  The  citizens  of  our  party  felt  the 
same  in  regard  to  the  matter  as  I  did,  for  they  felt  that 
they  were  not  safe  if  such  raids  by  Indians  were  al- 
lowed to  go  unavenged.  But  my  reasoning  did  not 
convince  the  major,  who  felt  unwilling  to  expose  his 
men  to  the  chances  of  starvation,  and  returned  with 
them  to  the  fort.  Jones  and  I  then  held  a  consultation 
with  the  citizens,  and  they  said  they  were  willing  to 
follow  me  anywhere.  We  resumed  the  pursuit,  and 
within  an  hour  came  up  with  an  ox  that  had  become 
tired  out,  from  which  we  procured  meat  enough  for  our 
wants  and  pushed  on. 

At  night  we  camped  near  a  small  stream  of  water, 
our  party  being  much  exhaust(;d,  and  prepared  sup- 
per, making  a  lire  in  a  deep  hollow  to  avoid  being  seen 
by  the  Indians  if  they  were  near.  After  eating,  I 
ascended  a  hill  near  by,  and  saw  a  few  miles  ahead, 


TAKING     RECEIPTS.  409 

Bevcral  camp  fires.  I  returned  to  camp,  and  rei){jrted 
the  location  of  the  Indians,  when  the  j)arty  agreed  witli 
me  tliat  our  best  plan  was  to  allow  our  animals  to  feed 
till  about  midnight,  and  then  by  making  a  circuit,  get 
in  advance  of  tlie  Indians  and  attack  them  as  they 
came  up,  as  they  would  not  be  expecting  any  foes  in 
that  direction.  Tliis  plan  was  successfully  carried  out, 
as  we  got  in  advance  of  them  about  a  mile,  and  posted 
sentinels  to  warn  us  of  their  approach.  About  day- 
light our  sentinels  came  in  and  reported  the  Indians 
near.  AVe  then  secreted  ourselves,  and  waited  till  the 
cattle  and  horses  had  passed  us,  and  as  the  Indians, 
who  were  carelessly  following  them,  not  dreaming  of 
attack,  came  abreast  of  us,  we  poured  a  volley 
into  them,  killing  seven  and  wounding  several  more. 
One  of  the  wounded  Indians  fell  from  his  horse,  hav- 
ing a  bullet  through  his  thigh,  and  one  of  our  men, 
named  Joe  Carroll,  rushed  upon  him,  when  the  Indian 
raised  up  and  shot  Carroll  in  the  breast  with  an  arrow, 
wounding  him  severely ;  but  Carroll  had  strength  to 
kill  the  Indian.  There  were  about  thirty-live  or  forty 
of  the  Apaches,  and  those  not  killed  by  our  iirst  fire 
escaped  through  the  brush.  We  pursued  them  about 
a  mile,  but  only  came  up  with  one  who  was  wounded, 
and  I  despatched  him  with  my  revolver.  ^Ve  returned 
and  collected  the  cattle  and  horses,  after  which  I  told 
the  party  we  ought  to  return  in  haste,  for  we  might  be 
near  the  Apache  nation. 

We  scalpi'd  the  Indians,  though  some  of  the  party 
said  it  looked  barbarous  ;  but  I  kept  on  scalping,  say- 
ing that  business  men  always  took  receipts,  and  I 
wanted  something  to  show  our  success.  Taking  the 
nine  scalps  and  getting  poor  Carroll  mounted  on  a 
pony,  we  set  out  on  our  return  to  the  fort  as  rapidly  as 


410  SURPRISE   TO   SOLDIERS. 

possible.  Having  to  drive  many  cattle,  it  was  slow 
traveling  for  a  wounded  man,  and  I  urged  the  necessi- 
ty of  some  one  going  to  the  fort  for  assistance,  and  a 
surgeon,  so  as  to  meet  us  half  way,  but  no  one  dared 
venture  to  make  the  trip.  I  drew  the  arrow  head 
from  Carroll's  breast,  when  he  began  to  bleed  freely, 
and  only  lived  to  reach  the  place  where  the  massacre 
occurred,  where  we  buried  him  on  the  banks  of  the  St. 
Peter' s  river,  with  the  bodies  of  the  murdered  citizens. 
We  had  recovered  over  sixty  head  of  cattle,  mules, 
and  horses,  and  having  got  them  so  far  on  our  journey, 
felt  sure  of  reaching  the  fort  in  safety,  which  we  did 
the  next  day. 

The  officers  at  the  fort  were  surprised  to  see  us  re- 
turn with  the  stock.  They  asked  me  all  the  particu- 
lars of  the  fight,  which  I  gave  in  detail,  and  showed 
them  the  nine  scalps,  which  the  commanding  offic(>.r 
gazed  at  in  surprise,  and  he  mvited  Jones  and  myself 
to  take  supper  with  him.  While  eating  with  him,  li;e 
asked  us  to  give  him  the  scalps,  as  his  command  of  the 
fort  would  expire  in  a  month,  and  he  wished  to  take 
them  with  him  to  California.  I  told  him  he  was  wel- 
come to  take  them,  if  he  would  publish  the  truth,  and 
credit  us  citizens  with  the  honor,  instead  of  saying 
that  his  soldiers  did  the  work.  He  promised  to  do  so, 
and  on  his  arrival  at  San  Francisco  he  kept  his  promise, 
publishing  the  names  of  our  party  in  the  papers,  a  list 
of  whom  I  had  given  him. 

In  the  course  of  our  conversation  at  the  fort,  I  told 
liim  that  if  the  United  States  government  would  give 
me  a  contract  to  procure  Apache  scalps  at  fifty  dollars 
each,  and  allow  Jones  and  me  to  pick  our  men  from 
the  citizens  and  hunters  in  those  parts,  it  would  be  bet- 
ter policy  for  the  government  than  sending  troops  into 


FAITHLESS  INDIANS. 


411 


that  region.  It  is  not  probable  tliat  such  a  course  will 
ever  be;  pursued  by  the  government,  as  it  would  be 
looked  upon  as  barbarous  in  the  extreme  by  those  who 
still  have  faith  that  they  can  be  conciliated  and  civil- 
ized. But  those  who  hold  to  this  opinion  do  not  know 
the  Apaches  as  I  do.  There  is  not  one  particle  of 
honor  in  the  whole  tribe. 


.^b^ 


27 


CHAPTEE  XXYII. 

IN  about  a  week  after  we  arrived  at  Fort  Buchanan  a 
brother  of  a  man  who  was  murdered  by  the 
Apaches,  and  who  owned  most  of  the  stock,  came  and 
claimed  them.  We  delivered  him  all  except  ten  head, 
wliich  belonged  to  another  citizen  that  was  also  killed 
at  the  time.  He  offered  us  a  part  of  the  stock  for  our 
services,  but  Jones  and  I  declined  any  compensation. 
As  for  the  rest  of  our  party,  they  had  scattered  and 
were  not  near  the  fort.  He  then  insisted  on  our  taking 
a  fine  pair  of  matched  mules  which  he  drove  mth  his 
team.  Those  mules  brought  us  five  hundred  dollars  at 
the  fort,  and  we  divided  the  money,  Jones  and  I  taking 
a  part,  and  the  remainder  was  given  to  such  citizens  of 
our  party  as  we  could  find. 

Healing  of  some  gold  diggings  at  a  place  called  Pen- 
alto,  where  the  mines  paid  well,  Jones  and  myself  and 
two  Mexican  guides  set  out  with  supplies  for  the  mines. 
Arriving  at  Apache  Pass,  at  the  government  station, 
the  officer  in  command  asked  us  where  we  were  from, 
and  where  bound.  We  told  him  from  Fort  Buchanan, 
at  which  he  was  surprised,  because  ours  was  the 
smallest  party  he  had  lately  seen  that  came  through 
without  trouble.  He  said  the  United  States  mail  car- 
rier had  been  killed  by  Indians  the  day  before,  within 
five  miles  of  his  station.  At  his  request  we  consented 
to  remain  with  him  for  a  short  time  to  await  the  arrival 
of  a  mule  train  with  machinery  for  the  mines  we  were 
about  to  visit.     In  two  days  the  train  arrived,  headed 


RESTITUTION".  413 

by  Stt^plien  O'Choas,  tlie  owner  of  the  teams,  and  a 
partner  in  tlie  mines.  In  tlie  train  were  twenty -four 
wagons,  loaded  with  tools,  machinery  or  supplies, 
witli  ten  mules  to  each  wagon.  The  third  night  after 
leaving  Apache  Pass,  the  train  was  attacked  at  AVillow 
Creek  by  Apaches,  who  succeeded  in  running  off 
eighteen  mules.  I  proposed  to  Mr.  O'Choas  that  we 
sliould  pursue  the  thieves  ;  but  he  objected  on  account 
of  the  delay,  preferring  to  lose  the  mules. 

Finally  we  arrived  at  Penalto,  where  we  found  a 
great  number  of  miners,  some  at  work,  and  others 
prospecting.  Jones  and  I  w-ent  to  work,  but  barely 
paid  expenses  ;  as  surface  mining,  which  at  first  paid 
remarkably  well,  had  about  given  out,  and  the  gold 
could  not  be  found  in  any  paying  quantities,  except  in 
ledges,  which  must  be  worked  by  companies  possessed 
of  capital,  with  quartz  machine  crushers,  and  all  the 
necessary  appliances.  The  p)lace  was  rapidly  filling  up 
with  desperate  characters,  intent  on  plunder. 

I  told  some  of  the  miners  that  a  vigilance  committee 
should  be  organized  to  preserve  order,  which  suited 
the  honest  part  of  the  miners,  and  they  held  a  meeting 
for  that  purpose,  organized  a  society,  and  commenced 
operations  immediately  on  one  desperado  named  John 
Jenkins,  who  had  committed  two  murders.  He  was 
arrested  and  hung  on  a  tree  at  once.  Another  man 
who  had  robbed  a  miner  of  four  hundred  dollars  worth 
of  gold  dust,  was  caught  and  compelled  to  restore  the 
money  to  the  man  he  had  robbed,  and  as  he  received 
bruises  in  the  fight  he  had  with  the  villain  when  he 
robbed  him,  which  disabled  him  for  a  fortnight,  we  also 
demanded  for  the  miner  his  expenses  and  n^niuneration 
for  his  lost  time.  Then  ten  minutes  was  allowed  this 
thief  to  quit  the  place  for  good,  or  be  hung.     He 


414  BEAVEB  TEAPPING. 

begged  for  a  mule  or  horse  as  he  was  lame,  when  a 
miner,  out  of  pity,  gave  him  a  worn  out  jack  that  was 
turned  out  to  die,  and  he  moved  off  in  great  fear,  re- 
questing us  to  make  due  allowance  of  time  if  the  old 
bob-tailed  jack  should  happen  to  balk  with  him  before 
he  got  out  of  the  place. 

After  the  crowd  had  seen  this  one  off,  we  went  around 
the  place  and  gave  notice  to  the  gamblers  and  all  per^ 
sons  who  did  not  make  their  living  honestly  to  go  to 
work  or  leave  the  camp  within  twenty-four  hours.  A 
part  of  them  left  and  the  others  went  to  work,  and 
after  this  the  camp  was  more  quiet  and  few  disturb- 
ances occurred.  These  Penalto  mines  lay  east  of 
Apache  Pass,  between  Mesilla  and  El  Passo  del  Norte. 
Jones  and  myself  remained  here  about  six  weeks,  when 
I  met  a  French  Creole,  a  trapper,  M^ho  was  called  Mon- 
sieur Louis.  He  informed  me  that  he  had  about  fifty 
tiaps,  and  every  thing  required,  and  was  on  his  way 
to  the  Gila  river  to  trap  beaver,  which  were  very  plenty 
there.  He  said  he  did  not  like  to  go  alone,  and  if 
Jones  and  I  would  join  him,  we  would  share  alike  in 
what  we  caught,  which  he  was  confident  would  pay  us 
better  than  mining  where  we  were. 

Here  a  change  of  adventure  was  open  to  us,  and  we 
did  not  hesitate  long  in  accepting  the  creole'  s  offer,  but 
packed  our  animals  with  provisions  and  ammunition, 
and  were  off  with  him  for  the  head  waters  of  the  Gila 
river.  Arriving  there  we  found  encouraging  signs  of 
beaver,  and  camped  awhile,  having  some  success,  for  I 
knew  how  to  bait  the  animals  with  a  scent  composed 
of  several  ingredients.  I  told  the  creole  that  the  fur 
was  inferior,  as  the  climate  was  too  warm.  After 
catching  about  forty  and  curing  the  skins,  we  left  for 
the  Colorado,  where  we  found  great  numbers  of  beaver, 


VISITED   I3Y   A   SPY.  415 

but  the  skins  were  as  poor  as  the  others.  After  remain- 
ing about  ten  days,  we  liad  caught  one  hundred  and 
fifty  beaver,  and  dressed  the  skins,  which  we  added  to 
our  former  h)t,  and  baled  some  of  them  up,  intending 
to  si  lip  them  to  market. 

The  last  evening  we  spent  here,  an  old  Indian  squaw 
came  into  our  camp  and  pretended  to  be  very  hungry, 
I  had  my  suspicions  that  she  was  a  spy,  and  had  come 
into  our  presence  to  learn  the  numbers  and  strength  of 
our  party,  and  report  to  her  tribe  that  they  might 
judge  whether  it  would  be  safe  to  attack  us.  I  gave 
her  what  she  wanted  to  eat ;  and  then  she  proposed  to 
leave  ;  but  I  told  her  she  must  remain  over  night,  and 
we  made  her  as  comfortable  as  possible.  During  the 
night  she  attempted  to  escape,  but  Louis  leveled  his 
rifle  and  bade  her  lay  down.  She  sat  do^wTi  by  the  fire 
and  cried,  which  convinced  me  that  she  had  a  party 
lying  in  wait  to  attack  us.  We  kept  a  close  watch  over 
her  till  morning,  when  we  finished  baling  our  furs, 
packed  our  animals,  and  started  for  Prescott  mines  in 
the  Mohave  Indian  nation,  the  Frenchman  acting  as 
guide.  We  mounted  the  squaw  on  a  mule,  and  tied 
her  on  to  prevent  her  escape.  When  we  got  near 
Prescott  mines,  when  we  thought  we  were  out  of  dan- 
ger from  her  friends,  we  let  her  go,  giving  her  some 
provisions  to  last  her  on  her  tramp  homeward. 

At  Prescott  we  found  rich  mines  and  silver  ledges, 
worked  by  a  large  company  ;  but  no  good  surface  dig- 
gings nor  sight  for  us  to  remain.  We  therefore  pro- 
ceeded with  a  party  for  Fort  Yuma  on  the  Colorado 
river.  On  our  way  we  saw  a  fine  country,  with  rich 
soil,  which  was  fast  being  settled  by  Texan  emigrants. 
On  our  way  we  passed  through  the  village  of  the 
Maricopus  Indians,  on  the  Gila  river,  who  were  a  very 


416  A   TRIP  TO   SONOEA. 

friendly  people,  and  reached  Fort  Yuma  without  any 
mishaps  or  skirmishes  with  the  enemy.  On  our  arrival 
at  the  fort  we  learned  that  a  vessel  was  expected  soon 
to  arrive  from  San  Francisco,  and  decided  to  wait  for 
it,  thinking  it  would  afford  us  an  opportunity  to  send 
our  furs  to  market.  When  the  vessel  arrived  we 
placed  our  furs  in  charge  of  Mr.  Hooper,  who  supplied 
the  fort  monthly  with  provisions  from  San  Francisco. 
He  offered  to  take  our  furs  to  San  Francisco,  dispose 
of  them  to  the  best  advantage,  and  bring  or  remit  to  us 
tlie  proceeds  at  Fort  Yuma. 

While  at  the  fort.  General  Banning  and  Colonel  Kel- 
ler came  there  on  tlieir  way  to  Sonora  to  confer  with 
the  governor  of  that  state  on  important  business. 
Finding  that  I  was  well  acquainted  witli  Governor  Pes- 
quiera,  they  offered  me  good  pay  to  accompany  them 
as  an  interpreter  and  guide,  wliich  I  accepted.  I  told 
my  friends  Louis  and  Jones  to  remain  at  the  fort  till  I 
returned  from  the  trip,  which  might  occupy  a  month, 
to  which  they  consented  ;  for  they  wanted  to  see  the 
result  of  the  fur  shij^ment,  and  it  would  be  several 
v^reeks  before  any  returns  could  be  got.  I  went  with 
the  general  and  colonel  in  a  four  horse  stage.  Feeling 
somewhat  alarmed  on  account  of  the  stage  robberies 
on  that  line,  we  were  well  provided  with  revolvers,  and 
I  took  along  my  favorite  rifle.  After  the  first  day's 
Journey  our  route  lay  through  a  sandy  desert,  where 
water  was  a  scarce  article  for  ninety-five  miles  ;  and  we 
w(/re  obliged  to  carry  enough,  in  leather  bottles  or 
kegs,  to  keep  ourselves  and  horses  from  dying  with 
thirst.     We  also  took  provisions  and  some  forage. 

In  crossing  this  desert,  it  is  dangerous  to  lie  down, 
as  almost  every  bunch  of  sage-brush  contains  a  rattle- 
isnake.     It  w^as  a  long  and  tedious  ride  through  the 


INTEKVIEW   WITH    GOVERNOR  PESQUIERA.        417 

sand,  but  when  we  reached  Dalton  station,  we  laid  over 
to  recruit  a  little,  and  started  witli  a  change  of  horses 
for  Ures,  the  capital  of  Sonora.  The  next  station  after 
leaving  Dalton  was  Altar,  where  they  told  us  it  was 
dangerous  to  travel  further,  without  protection,  from 
Apaches  and  robbers.  The  general  therefon^  hired 
eight  mounted  Mexicans  as  an  escort,  to  accompany  us 
to  the  capital,  where  we  arrived  in  safety  and  were  glad 
to  find  good  hotel  accommodations  after  our  fatigue  and 
peril.  I  went  that  evening  to  see  the  governor,  and  re- 
ceived a  very  hearty  welcome  from  him.  I  informed 
him  that  General  Banning  and  Colonel  Keller  were 
there  from  California,  and  wislied  to  have  an  interview 
whenever  it  would  be  convenient.  He  made  an  ap- 
pointment to  meet  them  the  following  day  at  his  office. 
Tlie  next  day  when  we  were  assembled  in  his  office, 
I  introduced  my  friends,  and  the  governor  was  so 
pleased  with  the  nature  of  their  business  that  he 
brought  out  several  bottles  of  champagne,  and  the  in- 
terview became  a  very  social  one.  They  invited  the  co- 
operation of  the  governor  in  the  establishing  of  a  port 
at  some  favorable  point  just  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Colorado  on  the  coast  of  Sonora,  for  the  convenience 
of  the  interior  trade  with  Arizona  and  upper  Mexico. 
The  governor  assured  them  he  would  do  all  in  his 
power  to  further  their  plans  and  wishes  ;  and  added, 
that  when  lie  was  driven  from  his  own  country  into 
Arizona  he  had  been  treated  very  kindly  b}'  the  Amer- 
icans, and  it  was  through  their  influence  he  had  re- 
gained his  position  ;  and  that  he  felt  under  obligations 
to  return  their  kindness.  He  said  I  was  a  witness  to 
those  matters  as  I  was  a  captain  in  his  ariallery  and  in- 
terpreter for  him  at  tli<^  time.  He  said  the  op^^ning  of 
the  port  did  not  rest  with  him,  but  that  he  would  send 


418  A   BULL   FIGHT. 

a  dispatch  to  tlie  President  of  Mexico  and  inform  him 
in  writing  of  the  advantages  that  would  accrue  to  the 
state  of  Sonora,  and  do  all  in  his  power  to  bring  about 
the  desired  result.  General  Banning  and  Colonel  Kel- 
ler were  perfectly  satisfied  with  this,  and  said  that  was 
all  they  could  ask  of  him.  The  governor  gave  a  splen- 
did ball  that  evening,  and  invited  us  to  attend,  which 
invitation  was  thankfully  accepted. 

The  following  day  preparations  WQfe  made  to  pro- 
ceed to  the  proposed  port  to  make  examinations,  with 
an  engineer  named  Captain  Polamus,  who  was  brought 
on  by  General  Banning.     This  was  on  Saturday— the 
governor  told  them  that  he  was  to  have  a  bull-fight  on 
the  follovdng  day  (Sunday),  and  invited  us  to  remain 
to  witness  it,  and  the  general  and  party  finally  corn- 
eluded    to  remain.     Tlie    fight    commenced    about  3 
o'clock,  P.  M.,  and  six  high  spirited  bulls  were  fought,. 
A  bull-fight  amphitheater  is  large  enough  to  seat  an 
audience  of  three  or  four  thousand  people,  with  a  large 
circular  pit  in  the  center,  which  is  separated  from  the 
outside  or  circle  of  seats  by  a  safe  wall,  so  that  none 
of  the  audience  can  be  harmed  by  the  infuriated  beasts. 
One  bull  at  a  time  is  let  into  the  enclosure  or  pit,  where 
ten  persons  are  standing,  dressed  in  fantastic  colors. 
Three  of  these  gladiators  are  mounted  on  horses,  one 
of  them  armed  with  a  lasso,  and  two  of  them  with 
spears  or  lances.     The  others  are  furnished  vdth  red 
flags,  which  serve  to  exasperate  the  bull.     The  spears 
are  used  on  him  for  the  same  purpose.     The  lasso  is 
used  in  case  the  bull  gets  any  of  the  men  into  too  close 
quarters,  to  pull   the  animal   away  from  his  victim. 
When  at  last  the  bull  has  become  perfectly  enraged 
the  bugle  is  sounded,  and  a  man,  designated  as  the 
captain,  steps  into  the  arena  with  a  red  flag  and  a  sharp 


FIGHT   BETWEEN    A    BULL   AND   LION.  419 

two-edged  sword.  On  showing  the  flag  the  bull  makes 
directly  for  him,  when  it  is  his  business  to  dodge  him, 
and,  at  the  same  time  kill  him,  by  running  him 
through  the  heart  with  his  sword. 

After  the  bull  is  dead,  a  pair  of  mules,  covered  with 
red  blankets,  with  harness  and  bells  on  them,  are  led 
in,  and  they  draw  out  the  bull  to  make  way  for  the 
next  combat,  which  immediately  follows ;  and  thus 
the  fight  continues  amid  the  cheers  of  the  audience 
until  all  the  bulls,  except  one,  have  been  killed.  Fre- 
quently they  have  a  wild  beast,  a  bear,  or  lion  for  ex- 
ample on  hand  (as  they  had  a  California  lion  in  this 
case).  The  cage  containing  the  lion  is  hauled  near 
the  center  of  the  arena  where  there  is  a  strong 
post.  The  lion  has  a  long  chain  fastened  about  his 
neck  and  the  other  end  is  secured  to  the  post  for  safety. 
There  is  a  red  cloth  on  the  lion's  neck,  and,  when  all 
is  ready,  the  last  bull  is  driven  into  the  amphitheater. 

I  never  heard  such  a  noise  from  any  assemblage  as 
came  from  that  crowd  when  that  bull  made  a  rush  for 
the  lion,  which  was  not  a  very  large  animal,  but  a  very 
ferocious  one.  This  fight  lasted  at  least  for  half  an 
hour,  and  the  bull  was  horribly  cut  up ;  but  after 
tossing  up  his  antagonist  in  the  air  several  times,  and 
getting  him  worried  out,  he  finally  got  him  down  and 
gored  him  to  death,  which  end(^d  the  bull-fight.  After 
this  the  bulls  that  had  been  killed  were  dressed,  and 
the  meat  ft^^d  out  to  convicts  in  their  prisons. 

The  governor  inquired  how  our  party,  especially 
Gemini  Banning,  liked  the  bull -fight.  The  general  re- 
plied that  he  considered  it  ratlu^r  barbarous,  but  the 
governor  excused  it  by  saying  that  the  people  demand- 
ed such  excitement,  and  it  was  their  amusement  instead 
of  theaters. 


420  A  MAN   BITTEN    BY   A    KATTLESNAKE. 

Next  morning,  being  furnislied  with  provisions  and 
horses,  also  an  escort  of  soldiers  provided  by  the  gov- 
ernor, we  left  for  the  place  of  the  proposed  port.  The 
governor,  with  a  band  of  music,  accompanied  us  a 
short  distance,  and  wished  us  success  as  Ave  separated. 

We  at  length  arrived  at  our  destination,  which  was 
at  Port  Lobas,  or  in  English,  Port  Wolf,  which,  at  first 
sight,  gave  promise  of  being  one  of  the  finest  harbors 
on  the  Sonora  coast.  We  had  with  us  a  canvas  boat, 
and  in  this  the  engineer  examined  the  harbor  and  found 
plenty  of  water  for  the  largest  ships  ;  and  we  also  dis- 
covered that  it  was  a  safe  refuge  for  vessels  in  case  of 
storms.  The  waters  also  abound  in  fish  of  different 
kinds. 

We  remained  here  four  days,  making  examinations ; 
and  discovered  a  beach  where,  after  removing  six 
inches  of  sand,  was  a  mass  of  alum  salt.  We  found 
it  by  seeing  a  place  where  some  j^ersons,  probably  In- 
dians, had  cleared  off  a  quantity  of  sand  and  taken  out 
the  salt.  On  our  third  day  there,  some  thirty  Indians 
came  into  our  camp,  who  said  they  were  of  the  Ceres 
tribe.  The  soldiers  of  our  escort  confirmed  their  state- 
ment. These  Indians  live  entirely  on  sharks,  sea  lions, 
and  fish. 

That  afternoon,  while  Captain  Polamus  was  out  in 
the  woods,  he  was  bitten  by  a  rattlesnake.  He  came 
into  camp  terribly  frightened,  saying  he  was  a  dead 
man.  On  inquiry  I  found  that  he  was  bitten  in  the  in- 
step. I  pulled  off  his  shoe  and  tied  a  cord  very  tight- 
ly above  the  wound,  and  cut  the  wound  a  little  to  let 
it  bleed.  I  hurried  off  one  of  the  Mexicans  to  hunt  up 
some  snake- weed,  telling  the  captain  not  to  be  frighten- 
ed for  I  could  cure  him.  I  searched  for  the  snake  and 
killed  it,  bringing  the  reptile  into  camp  about  the  time 


CURE   FOK   RATTLESNAKE  BITES.  421 

the  Mexican  returned  with  the  snake-weed,  which  was 
found  growing  in  abundance  in  the  vicinity.  Making 
a  strong  tea  of  the  weed,  Polamus  draidi  probably  a 
quart  of  it,  and  liaving  pounded  and  mashed  a  lot  of 
the  herb,  I  made  a  poultice  of  it,  placing  it  over  the 
place  that  was  bitten,  which  had  by  this  time  swollen 
considerably,  I  opened  the  snake,  took  out  his  liv(u-, 
cut  and  spread  it  on  the  poultice  over  the  wound,  and 
bound  it  on  tightly  with  a  part  of  the  split  body  of  the 
snake,  when  the  sharp  pains  began  to  decrease  and  the 
green  poison  commenced  oozing  out.  The  captain's 
ankle  did  not  swell  above  the  place  I  tied  the 
cord  around,  and  at  12  o'clock  that  night  I  removed 
the  bandage,  and  asked  him  how  his  foot  felt.  He  re- 
plied that  it  was  numb,  but  we  considered  tluit  was  in 
consequence  of  the  tight  cord  which  I  now  loosened 
some.  He  said  it  was  fortunate  that  I  was  along  with 
them,  otherwise  he  believed  he  should  have  died  xery 
soon.  In  the  morning  he  appean^d  quite  well,  and  said 
he  felt  no  ill-effects  from  the  bite  ;  so  I  removed  the 
poultice  and  bandage,  and  rubbed  some  gunpowder 
into  the  wound,  which  was  the  last  thing  done  for  it. 
The  captain  ihvn  wished  me  to  show  him  some  of  this 
weed,  which  I  did,  and  he  picked  a  quantity  of  it,  so 
that  he  would  know  it  again,  should  he  have  use  for  it. 
This  running  vine  or  weed  has  a  small  blossom  that  re- 
sembles a  rattlesnake's  eye.  I  was  once  bitten  by  a 
rattlesnake  myself,  and  was  made  acquainted  with  this 
remedy  by  a  Comanche  Indian,  who  cured  me.  It  is 
always  found  in  a  country  where  rattlesnakes  are  nu- 
merous. 

After  making  all  the  preliminary  surveys  for  a  land- 
ing place,  wharf,  &^  ,  and  linding  the  harbor  free 
from  reefs  or  sunken  rocks,  we  prepared  to  return. 


422  ENGAGEMENT   WITH   ROBBEES. 

This  port  is  due  west  from  the  town  of  Altar,  and 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  it.  We  were 
three  days  returning  to  Altar,  where  the  general  dis- 
missed the  escort  of  soldiers  and  presented  them  a 
hundred  dollars,  which  they  at  first  refused,  saying 
they  were  under  pay  from  their  governor  ;  but  the  gen- 
eral insisted  on  their  taking  it  as  a  present,  when  they 
received  and  divided  it  among  themselves,  starting  off 
the  next  morning  for  Ures,  the  capital,  v/hile  our  party 
took  the  stage  for  Fort  Yuma. 

On  the  route,  after  two  days  of  travel,  our  stage  dri- 
ver stopped  and  said  there  was  a  party  of  men  ahead, 
on  the  right  side  of  the  road.  I  told  him  to  halt  there 
till  we  could  ascertain  who  they  were  and  learn  their 
objects  ;  and  immediately  we  all  got  our  weapons  in 
readiness  for  defense.  On  getting  out  of  the  stage,  I 
noticed  the  men  making  for  the  road,  advancing  slowly 
towards  us,  and  I  cautioned  the  passengers  again  to 
prepare  for  them.  Tliese  robbers,  eight  in  number, 
rode  up  to  within  fifty  or  sixty  yards  of  us,  when  we 
ordered  them  to  halt.  They  wore  masks,  and  looked 
at  us  a  moment,  as  we  had  our  rifles  leveled  at  them, 
appearing  undecided  whether  to  attack  us  or  not. 
Presently  the  leader  inquired  the  way  into  Mexico.  I 
told  them  in  Spanish  that  they  were  already  in  Mexi- 
co, and  they  knew  it  well,  but  if  they  didn't  retreat 
and  get  out  of  our  way  in  double  quick  time,  they 
would  find  themselves  on  the  road  to  a  hotter  climate. 
Tlie  leader  now  ordered  them  to  advance,  and  at  the 
same  time  I  shot  at  him ;  but  his  horse  threw  up  his 
head  and  received  the  ball  between  his  eyes,  dropping 
dead.  General  Banning  then  fired  at  the  dismounted 
man  and  killed  him,  which  caused  the  rest  to  scatter. 
We  went  to  the  body,  and,  on  pulling  off  the  mask, 


A  ROBBER  CHIEF  KILLED.  423 

found  him  to  be  a  lialf-breed  Indian.  In  his  belt  were 
two  line  revolvers,  which  I  took  possession  of.  This 
attack  was  about  twelve  miles  from  St.  Domingo,  which 
place  we  intended  to  reach  that  night.  It  may  seem 
strange  that  a  stage  should  be  attacked  in  daylight  by 
a  band  of  robbers  ;  but  this  was  the  only  chance  they 
had,  as  the  stages  on  this  route  did  not  travel  nights  on 
account  of  the  numerous  robberies  which  had  been 
committed  on  them.  We  left  the  horse  and  rider  where 
they  fell,  and  pushed  onward.  On  arriving  at  St.  Do  • 
mingo,  the  general  asked  me  what  he  had  better  do 
relative  to  the  shooting,  and  I  advised  him  to  report  it 
to  the  authorities.  He  left  the  matter  entirely  in  my 
hands,  saying  he  was  not  acquainted  with  the  SjDanish 
customs  or  language. 

Finding  a  magistrate  I  gave  him  an  account  of  the 
atta(;k  and  its  result,  when  he  asked  how  many  robbers 
there  were ;  and  when  he  found  there  were  eight  of 
them,  he  asked  for  a  description  of  the  man  killed. 
When  I  had  told  him  all  I  was  able  to,  he  rej^lied  that 
it  was  a  noted  robber  of  the  plains  for  whose  capture, 
dead  or  alive,  a  reward  of  live  hundred  dollars  had 
been  offered  by  Governor  Pesquiera.  He  Avished  me 
to  pres(Mit  his  complimc^its  to  General  Banning,  and 
say  to  him  that  he  had  rendered  a  charitable  service  to 
the  people  of  that  section  by  killing  the  villain.  He 
then  orden»d  a  wagon,  with  an  armed  escort,  to  go  out 
and  bring  in  the  body  if  it  could  be  found.  When  the 
X)arty  returned  they  brought  the  body  and  also  the  sad- 
dle ;  and  after  the  magistrate  had  given  them  an  in- 
spection, he  pronounced  tlie  man  to  be  the  same  noto- 
rious thief  and  murderer  he  had  suspected.  He  was 
quite  pleased  to  know  for  a  certainty  that  the  country 
was  rid  of  this  villain,  for  he  had  committed  many 


424  AN  UNPLEASANT  COUNTEY. 

murders  in  that  vicinity,  and  invited  our  party  to 
breakfast  with  him,  urging  the  general  to  wait  a  few 
days  and  get  returns  from  the  governor,  with  the  re- 
ward ;  but  this  proposition  was  declined  on  account  of 
the  delay.  I  tendered  the  pistols  to  the  magistrate, 
but  he  insisted  on  my  keeping  them  for  my  services. 

The  next  night  we  arrived  at  Dawson' s  station,  on 
the  borders  of  the  sandy  desert,  which  we  all  dreaded 
to  cross.  For  about  ninety  miles  the  ground  is  incap- 
able of  producing  much  but  rattlesnakes,  with  other 
reptiles  and  vermin.  There  is  no  grass,  water,  or  tim- 
ber in  sight,  nothing  but  sand  and  sage-brusli.  When 
the  wind  sweeps  across  this  desert,  the  sand  is  blown 
like  snow,  and  fills  up  the  traveled  i)aths  ;  and,  in  con- 
sequence, travelers  lose  their  way  and  perish.  Persons 
acquainted  with  it  have  a  land  mark  for  a  guide,  which 
is  a  high  mountain  that  can  be  seen  from  all  parts  of 
the  desert.  The  top  of  the  mountain  is  dark  in  ap- 
pearance, and  it  is  therefore^  called  Black  Head  Moun- 
tain. I  have  crossed  this  trackless  waste  four  times, 
but  never  admired  the  trip.  On  the  east  side  of  the 
mountain  is  a  tribe  of  Indians,  called  the  Papago's, 
which  in  English  is  Potatoe,  The  named  is  derived 
from  the  wild  potatoes  or  articliokes  which  are  found 
there  in  abundance,  and  wliicli  form  a  principal  article 
of  their  food.  They  are  as  good  marksmen  as  any  In- 
dians I  ever  saw,  with  the  exception  of  the  Comanches. 
They  are  employed  by  many  of  the  farmers  and  stock 
raisers  of  Arizona  to  assist  them,  and  are  quite  an  in- 
dustrious, peaceably  disposed  tribe. 

After  remaining  at  Dawson' s  station  long  enough  to 
rest  and  recruit  ourselves  and  horses,  we  laid  in  a  good 
supply  of  water  and  provisions,  with  grain  for  the 
horses,  and  resumed  our  seats  in  the  stage,  wondering 


KETUKN   TO   FORT  YUMA.  425 

what  new  surprises  were  awaiting  us  in  our  weary  ride 
across  the  desert.  We  had  no  adventures  until  we 
were  about  niidwa}'  across  the  desert,  wlien,  as  we  were 
travelijig  slowly  in  the  night,  for  it  was  quite  dark,  our 
lead  horses  became  frightened.  I  got  out  of  the  stage, 
and,  peering  through  the  darkness,  discovered  a  body 
in  the  track  of  the  road.  On  lighting  a  lantern,  I 
found  that  the  man  was  perishing  for  want  of  water  ; 
and  after  giving  him  some,  he  revived,  and  we  man- 
aged to  get  him  on  top  of  the  stage.  After  giving  him 
some  food  he  inquired  for  his  comrade,  but  he  could  re- 
member but  little  of  him  after  he  laid  down  to  sleep. 
His  companion  had  strayed  from  the  road  and  perished ; 
but  we  took  this  man  along  to  Port  Yuma,  where  he 
was  recognized  as  a  noted  thief,  who,  witli  his  partner, 
had  run  away  from  California  with  stolen  property, 
and  after  swimming  their  horses  over  the  Colorado 
river,  they  had  vaijily  attempted  to  cross  the  desert. 
The  authorities  at  Fort  Yuma  took  him  in  charge, 
and  sent  him  back  to  San  Francisco,  whore,  as  we 
understood  afterwards,  he  was  sentenced  for  a  long 
period  to  the  penitentiary. 

General  Banning  paid  me,  on  our  arrival  at  the 
fort,  iive  dollars  per  day  for  the  time  I  had  been 
with  him,  and  Captain  Polamus  offered  me  one  hun- 
dred dollars  for  my  services  at  the  time  he  was  bit- 
ten by  the  rattlesnake.  This  I  declined  to  accei)t, 
but  he  insisted,  saying  he  thought  it  a  pit}-  if  his 
life  was  not  worth  a  hundred  dollars.  After  remain- 
ing a  few  days  at  the  fort,  the  general  and  his  party 
returned  to  California. 


CHAPTEE  XXYIII. 

ON  arriving  at  Fort  Yuma  I  found  my  friends,  Jones 
and  Louis.  Mr.  Hooper  had  returned  from  San 
Francisco  with  the  discouraging  news  that  he  could 
only  obtain  one  dollar  each  for  our  beaver  pelts,  on 
account  of  the  poor  quality  of  the  fur,  which  put  a 
stop  to  our  trapping  for  beaver  any  more  that  season. 
It  was  lucky  that  I  had  money,  for  my  friends  were 
rather  destitute,  and  at  the  fort  our  supplies  cost  us  as 
much  as  they  would  in  New  York,  for  no  quarter- 
master of  any  post  is  allowed  to  scatter  the  property 
of  the  government. 

While  at  the  fort  we  heard  of  the  finding  of  a  dead 
body  on  the  road,  which  answered  to  the  description 
given  of  the  comrade  of  the  thief  we  restored  to  life. 
We  did  not  feel  particularly  grieved  to  hear  of  his 
death. 

While  at  the  fort  I  learned  the  particulars  of  a  grand 
humbug,  in  the  shape  of  a  silver  mine,  of  which  Colo- 
nel Samuel  Colt,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  was  indu- 
ced to  become  one  of  the  chief  proprietors.  The 
company  was  composed  of  New  York  and  California 
speculators.  The  mine  was  located  about  thirty -five 
miles,  in  a  westerly  direction,  from  Tubac,  in  Arizona. 
Bars  of  silver  were  sent  to  Colonel  Colt,  with  a  state- 
ment saying  that  they  came  from  this  mine,  and  pur- 
porting to  give  the  quantity  of  silver  that  a  ton  of  ore 
would  yield.  A  scientific  man  was  employed  to  make 
assays  of  the  ore.     He  reported  to  the  overseer  that  the 


MINING   FRAUD.  427 

ore  was  not  one-tentli  part  as  rich  as  represented,  ])ut 
lie  was  bribed  to  keep  quiet  about  the  matter,  and  not 
publish  his  assays ;  for,  as  they  said  truly,  the  stock 
was  selling  well  in  the  New  York  market,  and  if  the 
mine  did  not  pay  in  one  way,  Wall  street.  New  York, 
would  make  it  pay  in  another.  Colonel  Colt  was  inno- 
cently led  into  the  speculation  from  false  represent- 
ations respecting  the  richness  of  the  lodes,  A  friend 
of  his  who  was  living  in  California  infonned  Colonel 
Colt  that  the  mine  was  a  humbug  in  season  for  him  to 
dispose  of  his  interest  for  about  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  Though  the  mine  was  worked  for  several 
years  afterwards,  it  never  paid  expenses,  and  was 
eventually  abandoned.  The  speculators  who  started 
it  made  a  good  thing,  but  the  stockholders  suffered, 
losing  all  they  invested. 

Near  this  silver  mim^  another  fraud  was  perpetrated, 
in  the  way  of  gold  mining.  A  party  of  Americans 
were  prospecting  for  gold,  when  some  Chinese  came 
along,  looking  for  some  mine  to  purchase.  Some  of 
the  Americans  took  the  Chinese  i)arty  away  to  some 
diggings  that  did  not  pay  very  well,  while  the  rest  re- 
mained to  prepare  the  ground  so  as  to  show  some  rich 
diggings  when  the  Cliinese  came  back.  The  Yankees 
dug  into  the  side  of  a  bank  and  mixed  fine  gold  dust 
with  the  loose  earth,  and  then  loading  their  guns  with 
powder  mixed  with  gold  dust,  fired  away  at  the  bank 
where  they  had  been  digging.  They  were  all  prepared 
to  receive  the  Chinese  when  they  returned.  After  the 
Chinese  had  washed  out  two  or  three  pans  of  earth 
they  had  about  eight  dollars  in  gold  as  th(^  result. 
Then  they  oiTered  the  Americans  ten  thousand  dollars 
for  the  claim,  which  was  accepted  and  the  money  paid 
over.  That  was  what  is  termed  salting  a  mine.  The 
28 


428      FIGHT  BETWEEN  INDIANS  AND  LUMBERMEN. 

sale  occurred  about  sundown,  and  the  Americans  left 
before  the  new  owners  had  time  to  discover  the  trick. 

The  Chinese  worked  the  claim  till  they  got  out  about 
two  ounces,  which  was  just  about  the  amount  the 
Yankees  fired  into  the  mines  in  salting  them.  Becom- 
ing discouraged  soon  after,  they  gathered  up  their  rice 
and  tea  and  started  for  Tueson,  the  capital  of  Arizona 
territory.  When  about  half  way  on  their  journey  the 
Apaches  attacked  them,  killing  the  entire  party, — ten 
in  number.  The  Chinese  are  line  subjects  for  scalp- 
ing, as  the  hair  is  shaved  close  near  to  the  crown  of  the 
head. 

The  same  party  who  killed  the  Chinese  also  killed  a 
Mr.  Pennmgton  and  his  two  sons,  about  two  miles 
from  where  they  killed  the  Chinese.  The  Indians  were 
then  pursued  by  the  troops  at  Tubac.  They  had  gone 
to  a  mountain  called  St.  Oreto,  where  a  party  of  Mex- 
icans and  Americans  were  at  work  getting  timber  for  a 
saw  mill.  The  Indians  came  across  two  Mexicans  who 
were  herding  a  drove  of  thirty  yoke  of  oxen.  They 
killed  tile  Mexicans  and  a  part  of  the  cattle,  and  pass- 
ed on  to  where  the  party  were  at  work  attacking  them 
boldly.  They  met  with  strong  resistance,  and  the 
fighting  was  kept  up  five  hours.  Mr.  Eickman,  the 
head  man  of  the  working  party,  was  shot  in  seven  dif- 
ferent places,  but  survived.  Nine  Indians  were  killed, 
and  the  remainder  fled  in  haste  just  as  the  troops  from 
Tubac  arrived.  The  working  party  informed  the 
troops  that  the  Indians  had  just  left,  and  offered  to  ac- 
company them  in  the  pursuit,  but  the  captain  of  the 
party  said  his  rations  were  nearly  exhausted  and  he 
should  return  to  the  fort.  Mr.  Rickman  accompanied 
the  troops.  On  their  return  to  the  fort,  the  party  stop- 
ped and  buried  the  two  Mexicans  and  ten  Chinamen 


DEATH   TO   MULE  THIEVES."  429 

that  had  been  murdered  by  tlie  Apaches.  In  due  time 
the  company  arrived  at  the  fort,  and  reported  their 
doingvS. 

This  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  way  the  Indians  were 
dealt  witli  by  the  government  troops  at  that  time,  and 
from  reports,  I  see  the  same  policy  is  continued.  After 
one  of  their  barbarous  massacres,  they  were  pursued  for 
a  short  distance  and  then  allowed  to  escape,  instead  of 
being  followed  up,  at  all  hazards,  and  punished  as 
they   deserved. 

A  short  time  after  the  return  of  the  company  of  pur- 
suers to  the  fort,  a  train  of  wagons  was  on  its  way  from 
California  to  Tueson,  via  Fort  Yuma.  At  Fort  Yuma 
the  wagonmaster,  Mr.  Davis,  was  taken  sick,  and  I 
was  employed  in  his  place,  to  take  the  train  to  Tueson 
and  return.  My  friends,  Jones  and  Louis,  were  also 
engaged  to  accompany  us  by  ^Ir.  Alexander,  the 
owner  of  the  teams,  who  had  a  large  contract  with  the 
United  States  government  for  freighting  supplies  from 
the  coast  to  the  interior.  Our  train  was  composed  of 
twelve  wagons  witli  ten  mules  each.  About  midway 
between  Fort  Yuma  and  Tueson  is  a  place  called  Pt^ 
cacho,  near  a  black  mountain,  where  we  camped  for 
the  night. 

In  the  morning  I  went  out  and  told  the  men  who  had 
guarded  the  mules  during  the  night  to  come  in  and  get 
their  bn^akfasts,  while  I  remained  to  watch  tlie  mules. 
I  was  sitting  down  enjoying  my  cigarette,  when  I  ob- 
served a  commotion  among  the  mules,  and  looking 
further  saw  two  Apaches,  who  had  separated  a  portion 
of  the  mules  and  were  driving  them  off.  Catching  up 
a  Spencer  rifle,  h'nt  me  by  Davis,  I  shot  one  through 
the  back,  and  the  other  attempted  to  escape,  but  I 
dropped  him  \vith  a  baU  through  the  hip.     The  team- 


430  UNDER  AEREST. 

sters  came  running  to  see  wliat  was  tlie  matter.  On 
seeing  the  wounded  Indian  they  dispatched  him  ;  after 
which  we  harnessed  up  and  moved  forward  hastilj^, 
knowing  that  other  Apaches  were  close  by.  We  arri- 
ved at  Tueson  without  further  trouble,  but  we  had  not 
been  there  long  before  some  Indians  came  there  and 
complained  that  I  had  killed  two  of  their  tribe,  who 
were  friendly. 

I  was  immediately  ordered  under  arrest  by  the  of- 
ficer at  the  barracks  ;  but  Mr.  Alexander  soon  arrived 
and  inquired  into  the  matter,  and  went  to  see  the  com- 
mander of  the  troops.  He  returned  with  the  comman- 
der, when  I  was  asked  if  I  shot  the  Indians  and  my 
reasons  for  so  doing,  I  confessed  that  I  did,  and 
should  do  the  same  thing  every  time.  The  colonel 
said  those  Indians  had  obtained  a  certificate  from  him 
a  few  days  before  guaranteeing  to  them  United  States 
protection.  I  asked  the  colonel  if  he  gave  them  any 
authority  in  that  paper  to  capture  mules  and  run  off 
with  them.  He  was  quite  indignant  at  my  asking  him 
such  a  question,  and  inquu-ed  if  I  meant  to  insult  him  ; 
I  disclaimed  any  such  intention,  but  said  that  I  had 
shot  them  in  the  act  of  stealing  Mr.  Alexander's 
mules,  and  if  he  wanted  to  keep  me  under  arrest  he 
could  do  so,  but  he  would  do  it  at  his  peril,  and  I 
should  demand  a  large  sum  for  each  day  of  my  deten- 
tion, enough  at  least  to  cover  all  his  back  pay,  and  all 
he  could  make  for  some  time  to  come.  He  concluded 
that  I  had  better  go  and  say  no  more  about  it.  After 
this,  while  I  stopped  at  Tueson,  this  colonel,  whose 
name  was  Thompson,  treated  me  with  marked  polite- 
ness and  courtesy. 

In  the  streets  of  Tueson,  which  is  quite  a  towm,  or 
city  as  they  call  it  in  Arizona,  I  happened  one  day  to 


UNPLEASANT  TRAVELING.  431 

meet  an  acquaintance  named  Michael  Burns.  lie  liad 
come  from  the  mountains  about  six  miles  distant  where 
he,  with  a  friend  of  his,  named  Johnson,  had  been  en- 
gaged on  a  contract  burning  charcoal.  He  showed  a 
bullet  hole  through  his  hat,  and  said  that  he  and  his 
companion  had  been  attacked  by  Apaches,  and  John- 
son had  been  killed.  lie  had  come  to  Tueson  for 
assistance,  but  said  he  should  prefer  citizens  rather 
than  United  States  troops,  for  they  had  lost  a  lot  of 
cattle,  and  soldiers  did  not  go  far  after  Indians  to  re- 
cover the  property  of  citizens. 

I  made  up  a  party  of  eighteen  citizens  and  teamsters 
and  started  off,  with  Burns  for  a  guide.  We  found 
Johnson's  body,  pinned  to  the  ground  by  a  scythe 
which  he  was  using  in  cutting  grass  at  the  time  he  was 
killed,  and  he  was  badlj^  mutilated  and  scalped.  We 
buried  Johnson's  body,  and  then  hurried  forward  in 
pursuit  of  the  Indians  to  revenge  the  death  of  John- 
son and  recover  the  stolen  cattle.  We  overtook  them 
the  third  day  encamped  in  a  hollow,  where  they  were 
waiting  for  another  party,  who  had  been  on  a  raid  in  a 
different  direction,  to  join  them,  and  fell  on  them  sud- 
denly, killed  seven  and  captured  one,  and  the  remain- 
ing five  or  six  escaped.  We  also  secured  Johnson's 
scalp.  The  captured  Indian  was  made  fast  to  a  mule, 
and,  with  the  cattle,  we  returned  to  Tueson.  Some- 
times the  Indian,  who  was  bound  hand  and  foot,  was 
under  the  mule's  belly,  and  sometimes  he  would  fall 
off  and  be  dragged  some  distance  by  the  ropes  whicli 
bound  lihn,  which  made  his  seventy  mile  journey  an}' 
thing  but  agreeable.  On  our  way  back  we  met  a  small 
party  of  a  dozen  Indians  on  their  way  to  join  tlu^ 
party  we  had  routed.  They  were  driving  a  number  of 
horses  and  mules  they  had  evidently  stolen.     When 


432  AN   INTERVIEW   WITH  A  U.  S.  COLONEL. 

they  saw  us  coining,  and  discovered  we  were  too  strong 
for  them  to  engage  with,  they  broke  for  the  mountains, 
leaving  their  stock,  which  we  gathered  up  and  took 
with  us  on  our  way  to  Tueson.  Before  arriving  there 
we  met  a  party  of  soldiers  sent  out  by  the  colonel,  who 
feared  we  were  in  trouble,  as  we  had  been  absent  nearly 
a  week. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  barracks  we  hung  the  Indi- 
an captive,  and  buried  Johnson's  scalp  decently,  after 
showing  it  to  Colonel  Thompson.  Colonel  Thompson, 
who  saw  us  hang  the  Indian,  asked  who  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  party.  I  told  him  I  was,  and  that  I  had 
done  this  as  a  favor  to  Mr.  Burns,  whose  friend  was 
killed  and  stock  taken  off  by  the  Apaches.  Colonel 
Thompson  asked  Burns  why  he  did  not  call  on  the 
troops  for  assistance  instead  of  citizens.  Burns  replied 
that  he  liked  the  way  Captain  Hobbs  and  his  friends 
followed  the  Indians,  it  being  so  different  from  paid 
soldiers,  who  generally  gave  out  when  their  rations 
became  short. 

The  following  morning  Colonel  Thompson  sent  for 
me  to  call  at  his  office.  He  received  me  cordially  and 
inquired  if  I  was  the  Captain  Hobbs  who  had  been  with 
the  Com.anches,  and  also  a  companion  of  Kit  Carson, 
of  whom  he  had  heard  several  speak  favorably.  I 
told  him  I  was  ;  when  he  said  that  had  he  known  me 
before  he  never  should  have  arrested  me  for  killing  the 
Apache  thieves.  He  asked  me  to  excuse  him,  and  of- 
fered me  employment  as  a  guide  and  interpreter  among 
the  Indians  and  Mexicans,  to  aid  him  when  they  made 
incursions  outside.  I  told  him,  as  I  had  formerly  told 
another  United  States  officer,  that  the  only  contract  I 
would  take  from  the  United  States  with  reference  to 
Indians  was  to  bring  in  Apache  scalps  at  fifty  dollars 


A   HUNTING   PARTY.  433 

each.  He  replied  that  my  proposal  was  unreasonable, 
for  his  troops  were  there  for  the  purpose  of  maintain- 
ing good  order,  and  keeping  the  Indians  friendly.  I 
bade  him  good-bye,  and  the  next  day  Mr.  Alexander's 
train  was  ready,  when  I  had  to  take  charge  of  it  on  tlie 
return  to  Fort  Yuma,  Burns  accompanying  us.  Arri- 
ving tliere,  we  found  Mr.  Davis,  the  former  wagon- 
master,  had  recovered,  and  I  resigned  my  position,  was 
paid  off,  and  the  train  proceeded  to  California.  Besides 
receiving  one  hundi'ed  dollars  per  month  from  Mr. 
Alexander,  I  received  a  present  of  two  hundred  dollars 
from  him  for  killing  the  two  Apache  thieves  who  at- 
tempted to  run  his  mules  off. 

My  friends  Burns,  Jones,  and  Louis  remained  with 
me  at  Fort  Yuma,  where  we  stayed  a  few  days  waiting 
for  something  new  to  turn  up.  After  awhile  I  fell  in 
with  a  friendly  Mexican  who  told  me  that  many  per- 
sons were  leaving  for  the  new  gold  diggings  at  a  place 
called  Cow  Hills,  on  the  Colorado  river.  By  his  fa- 
vorable representations  our  party  were  induced  to  go 
there,  first  being  supplied  liberally  by  the  quartermas- 
ter of  the  fort  with  all  needful  provisions.  When  we 
arrived  at  the  gold  diggings  we  found  more  people  than 
gold.  All  tlie  paying  claims  were  worked  by  j)arties 
that  would  not  sell  out,  and  there  was  a  small  show  for 
us,  so  we  decided  to  hunt  game  and  sell  it  to  the 
miners. 

Our  course  was  to  go  back  into  the  countr}-,  killing 
deer,  rabbits,  and  other  game,  which  were  plenty  in 
the  mountains,  and  bring  it  in  on  our  animals.  We 
sold  readily  all  the  deer  we  could  kill  at  t\v(Mity-five 
cents  per  pound,  and  rabbits  at  one  dollar  each.  We 
followed  this  several  weeks,  killing  in  that  time  one 
hundred  and  ninety -six  deer,  a  very  large  number  of 


434  MEETING   AN   OLD   COMPANION. 

rabbits,  and  one  black  bear,  which  paid  us  each  five 
hundred  and  forty  dollars,— a  larger  sum  than  was 
realized  by  most  of  the  miners.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  the  miners  began  to  leave,  as  the  profits  were  get- 
ting decidedly  small,  and  of  course  our  occupation  of 
supplying  them  with  game  was  gone,  and  we  were 
again  deliberating  what  course  to  take,  or  where  to 
journey. 

After  due  deliberation,  our  party  determined  to  cross 
the  mountains  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  range,  and  go  to 
San  Diego,  on  the  Pacific  coast,  to  kill  game  for  the 
San  Francisco  market.  After  a  ride  of  thirteen  days 
we  reached  the  vicinity  of  San  Diego,  and  commenced 
killing  ducks,  geese,  and  small  game,  not  far  from  the 
coast.  We  procured  an  old  tame  ox  and  took  him 
about  in  places  where  ducks  and  geese  were  plenty, 
firing  over  his  back,  wliich  he  was  used  to.  In  that 
way  we  could  approach  very  near  to  the  game,  as  such 
game  were  accustomed  to  the  sight  of  cattle.  We  sold 
our  game  at  San  Diego  for  about  a  month,  when  Burns 
and  Louis  went  to  San  Francisco  to  act  as  our  con- 
signees for  the  sale  of  larger  game,  such  as  bear  and 
deer,  which  we  knew  were  plenty  back  in  the  moun- 
tains fifteen  or  twenty  miles.  If  the  miarket  was  good 
we  intended  to  hire  help  and  ship  game  in  large 
quantities. 

Jones  and  I  saw  them  off"  on  the  steamer,  and  then 
returned  to  the  hotel  in  San  Diego,  where  to  our  great 
surprise  we  met  our  old  friend  Patterson  and  his  wife, 
from  Lower  California,  whose  marriage  I  have  pre- 
viously mentioned.  Of  course  we  had  a  good  time 
that  night.  Patterson  said  his  father-in-law  had  done 
well  by  him  since  we  left,  and  that  he  had  got  the 
whole  family  now  tolerably  Americanized.     Ho  had 


GOOD  SUCCESS.  435 

come  by  steamer  to  San  Diego  to  procure  a  supply  of 
goods  I'or  tlie  family,  and  wanted  us  to  return  with 
them  and  stay  a  while  ;  but  we  thought  best  to  decline 
for  the  present.  They  stayed  several  daj's  at  San 
Diego,  and  we  enjoyed  theu"  society  very  much. 

In  about  a  week  or  ten  days  we  received  a  letter 
from  Burns,  saying,  common  sized  deer  were  worth 
twenty -live  cents  per  pound  in  San  Francisco,  and  that 
there  was  good  sale  for  bear  meat  at  nearly  double  that 
rate.  After  Patterson  and  wife  left  by  steamer,  we 
went  back  with  some  hired  help  to  the  mountains  in 
pursuit  of  game.  By  the  assistance  of  our  Mi^xican 
friends  we  found  good  hunting  ground  for  deer  and 
bears.  We  sent  game  to  the  wharf  at  San  Diego  by 
our  Mexicans  for  shipment  per  steamer.  The  first  trip 
they  carried  one  small  grizzly  bear  and  five  deer.  Our 
business  was  profitable  till  the  weather  became  too 
warm  for  shipment  of  fresh  meat,  when  we  went  high- 
er up  the  mountains  and  dried  our  venison  and  bear 
meat,  writing  to  Burns  that  we  would  soon  be  in  San 
Francisco. 

After  a  good  run  of  luck  we  came  down  to  San  Diego 
with  our  animals  loaded  with  valuable  skins,  dried 
meat,  &c.,  which  we  delivered  at  the  shipping  ware- 
house, and  placed  our  mules  and  jacks  in  the  care  of 
the  owner  of  St.  IsabeFs  Ranche,  near  San  Diego,  and 
took  the  steamer  for  San  Francisco  with  our  bales  of 
liides  and  dried  meat. 

On  our  arrival  there  we  met  our  friends  Burns  and 
Louis,  who  were  on  the  lookout  for  us.  Our  bear 
hides,  deer  skins,  and  dried  meat  sold  for  eigliteen 
hundred  dollars,  which  was  better  than  some  of  our 
mining  experiences.  While  we  stopped  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, we  learned  that  there  was  to  be  a  dog-fight  for 


436  A   DOG   FIGHT. 

two  tliousand  dollars  a  side,  at  tlie  Mission  Dolores, 
about  three  miles  from  the  city.  We  concluded  to  at- 
tend ;  but  it  was  the  first,  and  I  trust  the  last  dog -light 
that  I  shall  witness  of  that  sort. 

The  fight  was  between  two  English  bull-dogs,  one 
owned  by  an  Englishman  and  the  other  by  an  Ameri- 
can. A  short  time  after  the  fight  commenced,  the  Eng- 
lishman claimed  that  the  Yankee's  dog  had  a  foul 
hold.  The  American  denied  it,  when  the  Englishman 
stepped  into  the  ring  to  separate  the  dogs,  but  received 
a  blow  from  the  Yankee  that  sent  him  sprawling  on 
the  ground.  The  Englishman  jumped  up  and  shot 
the  American  dead  ;  his  friends  then  returned  the  Eng- 
lishman's  shot,  killing  him  also  ;  and  during  the  fight 
four  men  and  one  dog  were  killed,  which  ended  the 
performance,  and  was  all  I  wished  to  see  of  such 
sport. 

Wliile  I  was  in  San  Francisco  I  heard  of  a  huge 
grizzly  bear  that  was  on  exhibition  there  some  years 
previous,  which  weighed  eleven  hundred  pounds.  It 
was  brought  from  St.  Joseph  district,  and  was  about  to 
be  shipped  eastward.  For  the  particulars  of  its  novel 
capture  I  am  indebted  to  some  worthy  gentlemen  who 
saw  the  animal  while  on  exhibition  in  San  Francisco. 
P.  T.  Barnum,  of  Barnum's  Museum,  offered  to  pay 
eight  hundred  dollars,  for  a  grizzly  bear,  caught  alive, 
tliat  should  weigh  one  thousand  pounds,  or  more.  A 
Yankee,  named  Cobb,  wlio  w^as  in  California  at  the 
time  this  proposition  was  made,  began  to  look  about 
him  to  see  if  he  could  not  secure  the  prize.  He 
chanced  to  hear  that  for  a  long  time  a  bear  had  been 
making  raids  on  the  ranches  of  Peter  Quivey  and  a 
Mr.  Wilson,  near  St.  Joseph,  and  carrying  off"  a  great 
deal  of  their  young  stock.     From  the  size  of  the  ani- 


CATCHING  A   GRIZZLY.  437 

mals  carried  off,  and  the  trail  made  by  the  bear,  it  was 
evident  that  he  was  of  unusual  size.  Cobb  at  once 
went  to  see  Quivey,  who  showed  him  the  trail  by  which 
the  bear  came  on  to  his  premises.  Cobb  sunk  a  pan 
into  the  ground,  near  this  trail,  and  taldng  advantage 
of  the  known  fondness  of  bears  for  sweets,  poured  into 
it  about  two  quarts  of  molasses.  On  the  morning  fol- . 
lowing  the  baiting,  they  found  the  pan  licked  clean. 
Cobb,  thinking  he  now  saw  his  way  clear  to  capture 
the  brute  and  secure  the  prize,  set  men  at  work  in  St. 
Joseph  to  make  a  strong  cage  to  hold  the  bear  when 
caught,  in  the  meantime  continuing  the  rations  of  mo- 
lasses. When  everything  w^as  in  readiness  for  his  re- 
ception, the  regular  rations  of  the  bear  were  varied  one 
night,  by  adding  to  the  molasses  two  or  three  bottles 
of  brandy.  On  going  to  the  pan  in  tlie  morning,  Cobb 
and  his  friends  found  it  cleaned  out  as  usual,  and  at  a 
short  distance  from  it  the}^  found  the  bear  \y'mg  per- 
fectly stupefied. 

It  was  now  an  easy  matter  to  secure  the  brute.  Mr. 
Cobb  commenced  by  placing  over  his  jaws  an  iron 
muzzle,  for  safety,  in  case  he  should  recover  too  soon, 
and  then  tied  his  feet  securely.  A  two-horse  wagon 
was  driven  from  Mr.  Quivey' s,  and  bruin  loaded  into 
it  — this  loading  requiring  eight  men  — when  he  was 
driven  to  Mr.  Quivey' s,  where  the  cage  was  waiting 
to  receive  the  prisoner.  When  he  was  fairly  in  the 
cao-e  his  muzzle  was  removed  and  his  feet  untied  ;  but 
one  of  his  fore  and  one  of  his  hind  legs  wiue  chained 
to  the  cage,  in  such  a  manner  that  on  his  becoming  do- 
cile they  could  be  easily  released.  Water  was  then 
thrown  on  him  to  bring  him  out  of  his  stupor.  When 
he  was  restored  to  consciousness  his  efforts  to  liberate 
himself  were  frightful.    He  even  bent,  in  his  frenzy, 


438 


EESIGl^ED    TO    FATE. 


some  of  the  iron  bars  to  his  cage,  which  were  an  inch, 
and  a  half  in  diameter.  It  was  about  a  week  after  his 
capture  before  the  bear  would  take  any  food  ;  but  after 
that  time  he  appeared  to  resign  himself  to  his  fate  and 
make  the  best  of  the  situation.  Wells,  Fargo  &  Co., 
as  the  agents  of  Mr.  Barnum  in  the  matter,  paid  Cobb 
his  eight  hundred  dollars,  and  employed  him  to  ac- 
company the  bear  to  New  York,  by  the  way  of  Pan- 
ama, The  bear  was  kept  in  the  museum  until  it  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  Mr.  Barnum  has  often  said  to  his 
friends,  that  the  bear  and  sections  of  the  big  trees,  both 
California  curiosities,  formed  one  of  the  greatest  attrac- 
tions he  ever  had  in  the  museum. 

The  preceding  story  I  have  inserted  in  these  pages, 
considering  that  I  received  it  from  reliable  authority, 
and  that  it  would  interest  my  readers,  as  it  did  me,  for 
I  have  often  captured  grizzly  bears  in  my  experience, 
but  never  with  molasses  and  spirits,  for  I  preferred  a 
good  rifle. 


CHAPTEE  XXIX. 

IT  was  in  the  summer  of  18C9,  when  our  party,  hav- 
ing stayed  in  San  Francisco  several  weeks,  and, 
being  tired  of  tlie  monotony  of  hotel  life,  returned  by 
steamer  to  San  Diego,  where  we  found  our  mules  fat- 
tened up  and  in  good  condition  for  traveling.  I  asked 
Burns  and  Louis  if  we  should  return  to  the  mountains 
for  game,  whicli  idea  ^ileased  them;  but  at  Jones's 
suggestion  we  concluded  to  go  back  to  the  San  Berna- 
dino  mountains,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to 
the  north  of  San  Diego,  on  a  trip  of  «^x])l ovation.  We 
traveled  slowl}',  killing  game  on  the  way,  and  after  a 
week's  travel,  camped  at  the  foot  of  tlie  mountain  near 
a  spring  where  feed  for  the  animals  was  plenty.  There 
was  no  lack  of  game,  but  the  signs  of  gold  were  slim 
enough,  the  gulches  and  ledges  barely  showing  the 
fiolor  occasionally. 

Burns  started  out  about  3  o'clock  the  day  after  our 
arrival,  to  get  a  shot  at  a  bear,  if  possible.  I  urged 
him  to  wait  till  next  morning,  when  I  would  accom- 
pany him,  for  it  was  late  to  go  alone,  and  h(^  was  rather 
inexperienced  in  bear  hunting  ;  still  he  insistinl  on 
going  by  himself.  After  supper,  as  Mr.  Burns  did  not 
return,  we  became  very  uneasy  about  him.  I  lit  pine 
torches,  elevating  them  on  a  pole,  and  fin>d  my  rilie 
several  times  to  guide  him  in  returning  ;  but  we  got  no 
answer.  It  was  not  prudent  to  search  for  liim  that 
night,  it  being  quite  dark,  and  we  should  not  be  able 
to  follow  his  trail ;  but  early  in  the  morning  Jones  and 


440  A  TTJEKEY   SHOOT. 

myself  started  to  find  liim.  We  followed  his  track  two 
miles  or  more,  then  fired  blank  cartridges,  when  we 
could  just  hear  him  answer  us.  We  found  him  in  a 
small  tree,  with  a  grizzly  bear  and  two  cubs  lying  at  its 
foot ;  but  the  bear  was  badly  wounded  so  that  she 
could  not  rise.  Still  Burns  was  afraid  to  come  down, 
for  his  gun  was  laying  near  the  bear's  head,  and  he 
had  stayed  up  in  the  tree  all  night,  and  he  suff'ered  so 
with  the  cramps  that  he  could  hardly  move.  We  shot 
the  old  bear,  and  so  relieved  Burns  from  his  disagree- 
able position.  We  skinned  the  animal  and  left  the 
carcass,  which  was  too  poor  to  eat ;  but  we  picked  up 
the  cubs  and  carried  them  to  camp.  Mr.  Burns  said 
that  in  future  he  should  take  my  advice,  and  not  start 
out  hunting  so  late  in  the  afternoon.  He  had  a  good 
appetite  for  his  breakfast,  after  which  he  had  a  long 
sleep,  wliile  Jones  and  I  went  out  prospecting. 

We  found  a  wild  turkey  roost,  which  we  told  our 
comrade  of  when  wa  returned,  and  it  was  arranged  to 
have  a  grand  turkey  shoot  when  the  moon  should  be 
at  its  full,  which  would  be  in  a  few  nights.  We  moved 
our  camp  to  within  a  mile  of  the  turkey  roost,  got 
wood  and  leaves  together  under  the  trees  where  they 
alighted,  and  everything  in  readiness  to  kindle  the 
fires.  Then  when  the  moon  shone  out  full,  one  night, 
and  the  turkeys  could  be  seen  in  the  tree  tops,  we 
kindled  our  fire  to  get  a  clearer  view  of  them,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  killing  fourteen  nice  ones.  The  light  of  the 
fire  blinds  and  confuses  the  turkeys,  thus  making  them 
an  easy  prey.  Having  no  success  in  finding  gold,  we 
decided  to  leave  that  section,  as  we  had  a  fine  stock  of 
choice  provisions  now  for  a  tramp.  The  next  day,  in 
traveling  around  to  the  north  of  the  mountain,  we  dis- 
covered some  horses  and  cows  feeding  in  an  enclosed 


MisA:s'TiTr.opy.  441 

lot,  wliioli  indicated  tliat  some  rancho  must  bo  near  by. 
A  little  further  on  we  came  to  a  Mexican  ranclie  near 
a  stream.  The  people  there  were  frightened  and  ran 
from  us  as  we  approached,  but  were  soon  quieted  when 
we  addressed  them  kindly  in  Spanish.  We  told  the 
woman  that  we  were  friends  who  merely  desired  to 
rest  there  awliile,  and  inquired  for  her  husband.  She 
replied  that  he  was  away  in  the  fields  looking  after  his 
stock.  She  told  us  we  could  put  our  things  on  the 
porch  of  the  house  and  rest  ourselves,  while  she  sent  a 
child  for  her  husband  to  return. 

Our  pet  bear  cubs  pleased  the  daughter  of  this  lady, 
who  gave  them  some  milk,  which  made  them  act  quite 
lively  and  playful.  As  they  were  some  trouble  to  us, 
and  starving  for  want  of  suitable  nourishment,  we  gave 
them  to  the  young  lady,  who  promised  to  bring  them 
up  with  the  best  of  care.  About  dinner  time  the  hus- 
band and  his  brother  returned,  meeting  us  with  a  cor- 
dial welcome.  We  presented  him  two  of  our  wild 
turkeys,  which  placed  us  on  a  very  friendly  footing. 
In  the  course  of  our  conversation  he  remarked  that  it 
was  a  long  distance  to  the  nearest  settlement,  and  when 
I  inquired  why  he  located  so  far  from  any  neighbors,  he 
said  it  was  on  account  of  his  hatred  towards  lawyers 
and  new  settlers.  In  explanation  of  this  reason  he  said 
that  he  owned  a  nice  farm  and  home  for  his  famil}^  in 
Los  Angeles  couni  y .  Unfortunately  for  him  a  portion  of 
his  land  showed  signs  of  being  rich  in  gold.  A  part}'  of 
Americans  came  along  and  squatted  on  some  of  his  min- 
eral lands,  and  he  gave  them  notice  that  it  belonged  to 
him ;  but  tliey  cared  nothing  for  his  legal  rights,  and 
persisted  in  remaining  on  his  grounds.  He  finally  went 
to  law  about  it,  and  the  first  lawyer  charged  him  an 
enormous  sum  for  advice  and  procuring  a  wTit  of  eject- 


442  AIDING  A    miEND, 

ment,  wliicli  he  paid  down  ;  but  after  mucli  delay,  lie 
lost  liis  case  in  the  first  trial,  wiiich  result  he  was  con- 
fident was  obtamed  by  bribery  by  the  Yankees.  Costs 
for  appeals,  continuances,  and  legal  services  became  a 
regular  bore,  and  he  packed  up  his  effects,  leaving  the 
property  and  his  lawyers  in  disgust,  with  the  determi- 
nation to  get  isolated  so  far  from  society  that  no  man 
would  covet  his  property  or  undertake  to  dispossess 
him.  We  told  him  to  have  no  fears  of  our  laying  any 
claim  to  his  lands,  for  our  party  couldn't  content  them- 
selves long  enough  in  one  place  to  even  plow  the 
ground  for  a  crop. 

We  remained  there  several  days  examining  the  sur- 
rounding country,  finding  plenty  of  game  in  the  way 
of  antelope,  deer,  bears,  wild  turkeys,  &c.  Our  host 
told  us  that  he  had  lost  many  young  calves  and  much 
other  stock  by  bears,  but  he  was  not  able  to  prevent 
these  depredations,  or  catch  the  animals.  He  asked 
me  if  we  could  contrive  any  way  to  rid  him  of  these 
pests ;  adding  that  he  once  lassoed  a  bear,  but  he 
broke  the  lasso  and  came  near  killing  him  and  his 
horse,  when  he  fled  for  his  life  and  had  not  attempted 
to  catch  any  since.  I  told  him  if  he  would  give  me 
some  pieces  of  timber  I  would  make  a  trap,  baiting  it 
with  fresh  meat,  and  set  a  spring  gun  which  would  be 
apt  to  kill  any  thing  that  came  that  way.  I  put  the 
trap  on  the  bear's  accustomed  trail,  loading  the  gun 
with  several  balls,  and  the  next  morning  one  of  the 
brutes  was  found  dead  in  the  trap.  The  gentleman 
offered  me  a  beef  for  the  favor  I  had  done  him,  but  I 
declined  it,  telling  him  he  had  my  sympathy  for  his 
previous  bad  luck. 

Before  leaving  our  friendly  host  we  asked  him  the 
distance  to  Fort  Mohave,  where  we  intended  going. 


EEROE,   OF   A   VIGILANCE  COMMITTEE.  443 

We  knew  the  direction  of  the  fort,  and  intended  to 
travel  by  the  compass.  He  was  not  posted  in  tlie  g<'Og- 
raphy  of  the  country,  but  said  there  was  a  wagon 
road  about  twenty  miles  to  the  northward  wliicli  led 
from  the  coast  eastward  tlirough  the  interior  of  Arizona 
to  Salt  Lake,  over  the  sandy  plains.  We  left  for  Fort 
Mohave  by  going  to  the  north  till  we  struck  the  road 
spoken  of  by  our  friend,  and  following  it  as  far  as  it 
took  us  in  the  right  dir(>ction,  reaching  the  place  with- 
out (Micountering  tli(^  Indians. 

On  our  way  to  the  fort,  we  met  a  vigilance  party  re- 
turning to  Los  Ang(;les,  having  been  out  in  pursuit  of 
a  horse  thief,  whom  they  had  overtaken  and  hung. 
They  had  also  hung  a  man  traveling  in  his  company, 
on  the  supposition  that  he  was  an  accomplice,  but  it 
afterwards  appeared  that  he  was  an  innocent  man,  a 
merchant  at  Salt  Lake,  and  had  been  to  Los  Angeles 
to  purchase  goods.  On  his  way  home  he  had  fallen  in 
with  this  thief,  and  not  knowing  his  character,  had 
kept  along  with  him  for  the  sake  of  his  company. 
This  case  was  rendered  still  more  lamentable  from  the 
fact  that  the  murdered  man  left  a  wife  and  four  child- 
ren. I  have  been  in  pursuit  of  a  good  many  criminals, 
under  direction  of  vigilance  committees,  but  never 
would  consent  to  the  harming  of  any  man  till  his  guilt 
was  proved,  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt ;  and  had 
tills  paity  pursued  the  same  course  with  the  stranger, 
and  hc^ld  him  a  prisoner  till  they  could  have  learned 
something  in  regard  to  him,  an  honest  man  would  not 
have  been  sacrificed,  and  the  vigilance  committee 
would  not  have  felt  remorse,  caused  by  their  hasty 

action. 

On  our  arrival  at  Fort    IMohave,  the  commandej- 
asked  where  we  came  from,  and  we  brielly  recounted 
29 


444  DESERTED   BY   A   GUIDE. 

our  travels,  not  forgetting  to  tell  him  of  the  Mexican 
ranche  where  we  stayed  a  week  with  the  man  who  de- 
sired to  get  out  of  the  reach  of  soci(4y. 

From  Fort  Mohave  we  h'ft  for  the  White  Pine  silver 
regions,  taking  along  a  friendly  Indian  guide,  who  pre- 
tended to  know  the  whole  route  ;  but  we  relied  partly 
upon  the  compass.  Fort  Mohave  lies  east  of  the  San 
Bernardino  mountain,  on  the  Colorado  river,  and  we 
were  traveling  northward,  through  a  portion  of  Neva- 
da. On  our  journey  we  picked  up  many  stones  of 
various  colors,  some  resembling  the  California  dia- 
mond, and  others  looking  like  a  ruby. 

By  the  aid  of  our  guide,  we  usually  found  water  and 
feed  for  our  animals  where  we  camjDed  at  night,  and 
though  we  saw  small  parties  of  Indians,  at  a  distance, 
several  times,  we  were  not  disturbed.  When  about 
half  way  on  our  journey,  our  guide  left  us,  and  made 
his  way  to  a  party  of  friendly  Indians  in  the  vicinity, 
obliging  us  afterwards  to  travel  by  compass. 

The  night  our  guide  left  us,  as  we  were  sitting 
around  our  fire,  we  were  surprised  by  the  appearance 
in  our  camp  of  a  young  girl  about  twenty  years  of  age, 
and  nearly  destitute  of  clothing.  She  commenced 
talking  in  an  Indian  language  that  was  unknown  to 
me.  On  looking  closely  at  her,  I  thought  I  could  dis- 
cover, through  the  paint  on  her  face,  the  features  of  a 
Mexican,  and  spoke  to  her  in  Spanish,  when  she  re- 
plied in  the  same  language,  and  gave  us  an  account  of 
how  she  came  to  be  there.  She  said  that  a  number  of 
years  before,  her  father' s  house  had  been  attacked  by 
Indians,  and  the  whole  family,  with  the  exception  of 
herself,  had  been  murdered.  Her  life  had  been  spared 
at  the  request  of  the  chief's  son,  and  since  that  time 
she  had  been  compelled  to  live  with  him  as  his  wife. 


RESCUE  OF  A  MEXICAN  GIRL.  445 

Tlie  tribe,  wliicli  numbered  in  all  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty,  were  encamped  a  few  miles  from  us.  They 
had  seen  us  at  times  for  three  or  four  days,  and  wlien 
they  saw  our  camp  lire  so  near  to  them,  had  sent  her 
to  lind  out  about  us,  thinking  we  might  be  Mexicans 
and  she  could,  by  listening  to  our  conversation,  ascer- 
tain our  plans.  She  had  appeared  so  well  contented 
with  them,  thus  throwing  them  entirely  off  their  guard, 
while  she  watched  for  an  opportunity  to  escape,  that 
they  had  no  fears  of  her  attempting  to  leave  them. 
When  she  found  that  we  were  Mexicans  or  Americans, 
she  decided  to  make  herself  known  and  consult  with 
us  as  to  the  best  method  of  attempting  her  escape. 
She  did  not  ■s\ish  us  to  attempt  her  rescue,  as  she  feared 
our  party  was  so  small  we  should  get  ourselves  into 
trouble.  I  told  her  I  had  had  considerable  experience 
among  Indians,  and  had  never  left  a  captive  among 
them  from  any  fear  of  consequences,  if  I  attempted  to 
release  them.  On  inquiring  what  weapons  the  tribe 
used,  she  said  they  had  no  fireanns,  their  weapons 
being  only  bows  and  arrows,  spears  and  clubs  ;  when 
I  told  her  I  thought  we  could  protect  her  without  dan- 
ger ;  at  all  events,  we  were  willing  to  make  the  at- 
tempt. In  this  decision  Burns  and  Louis  both  agreed 
with  me.  As  her  clothing  had  become  badly  worn, 
Burns  presented  her  with  a  pair  of  pants  and  a  flannel 
jBhirt,  and  as  he  was  a  small  man,  his  clothing  fitted 
her  very  well. 

In  the  morning  we  got  aw^ay  from  our  camping  place 
as  early  as  possible,  and  pushed  forward  at  as  great 
speed  as  we  could,  for  we  felt  very  certain  that  th(^  In- 
dians would  soon  be  in  search  of  their  scout.  In  this 
we  judged  correctly,  for  we  soon  saw  them  lurking  on 
our  trail,  but  taldng  good  care  not  to  get  within  reach 


446  WHITE   PINE   MINES. 

of  our  rifles.  We  were  well  supplied  with  ammuni- 
tion, and  had  no  fears  of  being  attacked,  except  in  the 
night,  and  we  took  every  precaution  to  guard  against 
tliat.  After  being  followed  in  this  way  for  two  days,  I 
became  impatient  at  being  obliged  to  keep  such  a  close 
watch  on  the  movements  of  the  Indians,  and  deter- 
mined, if  they  came  near  enough  to  give  me  a  chance, 
1  would  lire  on  them,  which  would  either  bring  them 
down  upon  us  or  relieve  us  of  the  annoyance  of  their 
company.  Shortly  after  I  came  to  this  decision,  I  saw 
one  of  the  party  in  advance  of  the  others,  and  neai 
enough  to  be  in  range  of  my  rifle.  I  asked  the  girl 
who  it  was,  and  she  replied  that  it  was  the  son  of  the 
chief,  with  whom  she  had  been  compelled  to  live.  I 
then  inquired  if  she  had  any  objections  to  my  killing 
him,  and  she  replied  that  she  had  not,  when  I  fired 
and,  owing  to  the  great  distance,  killed  the  pony,  in- 
stead of  the  rider  ;  at  which  the  whole  party  retreated 
over  the  plain,  and  we  saw  no  more  of  them.  We  then 
thought  best  to  make  as  much  haste  as  possible,  as  we 
did  not  know  what  efiect  the  shot  might  have  on  our 
pursuers,  until  w^e  arrived  at  Hamilton,  a  small  settle- 
ment in  the  White  Pine  region,  finding  wood  and 
water  convenient  for  camping  places,  and  killing  game 
on  the  way. 

At  this  mining  place  we  found  kind  friends,  and  one 
old  lady  who  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  Mexican  girl, 
and  furnished  her  with  suitable  clothing.  After  wash- 
ing the  paint  from  her  face,  and  dressing  her  after  the 
manner  of  civilized  people,  she  made  quite  a  genteel 
appearance.  Here  we  rented  a  mincer's  cabin,  and 
went  to  prospecting  for  a  mine,  the  girl  offering  to  do 
our  housework,  though  she  made  it  her  home  with  the 
old  lady.    I  showed  the  colored  stones  to  a  New  York 


GRAVE   OF   KIT   CAKSON'S   DAUGHTER.  447 

inan  who  was  tliero,  who  piircliased  tliem  of  me  at 
good  ])rices,  and  inquired  of  nie  where  I  found  them 
and  wliether  they  were  plenty.  On  my  telling  him 
they  were,  he  wished  us  to  return  with  him,  but  we 
told  him  the  desert  over  which  we  passed  was  not  very 
inviting  to  a  man  used  to  luxuries,  and  we  could  not 
think  of  returning.  We  remained  here  two  weeks,  but 
finding  no  rich  prospecting,  we  decided,  as  provisions 
were  high,  and  forage  for  our  beasts  very  scarce,  that 
our  best  course  was  to  leave.  The  old  lady  who  fur- 
nished the  clothing,  asked  tlie  Mexican  girl  to  remain 
there  with  her  ;  but  she  refused  for  several  reasons,  but 
the  main  one  she  ke^^t  secret,  which  was  a  fondness  for 
our  friend  Burns,  as  near  as  I  could  judge. 

AVe  headed  for  Mono  Lake  in  company  with  a  party 
who  were  going  there  with  two  liay  wagons  to  get  for- 
age. Arriving  at  Mono  Lake,  we  saw  in  the  hills  op- 
posite several  excavations  or  large  rooms  dug  out  of 
the  hillsides,  one  of  which  we  camped  in,  as  it  was 
about  fifteen  by  twenty -five  feet,  the  walls  being  mainly 
of  solid  rock. 

Mono  Lake  is  about  four  miles  long  and  three  miles 
wide,  and  is  fed  by  hot  and  cold  springs.  There  is  a 
small  settlement  of  forty  or  fifty  inhabitants  who  live 
by  farming  and  by  tlie  sale  of  hay,  which  is  abundant 
in  the  vicinity.  I  was  informed  by  a  gentleman  living 
there  by  the  name  of  Scott,  that  a  daughter  of  Kit  Car- 
son was  buried  near  by.  At  my  request  he  pointed 
out  her  gi-ave  to  me,  when  I  employed  a  man  to  l)uild 
a  fence  around  it,  as  a  mark  of  respect  to,  and  in 
memory  of  her  father,  with  whom  I  had  been  pleasant- 
ly acquaintod.  I  rem(Mnb(M-ed  seeing  this  girl  often, 
when  she  was  about  eight  3' ears  old.  She  was  a  daugh- 
ter by  Kit's  first  wife,  who  was  called  the  Pine  Leaf 


448  A    DISSATISFIED    DUTCHMAN. 

tmd  was  of  the  Blackfoot  tribe.  This  girl  was  called 
tlie  Prairie  Flower,  and  was  born  at  Bent's  Fort  on  the 
Arkansas  river.  Her  mother  died  when  she  was  ten 
years  of  age.  Tlie  gii-1  then  lived  in  Colonel  Bent's 
family  till  she  was  sixteen  years  old,  when  she  married 
a  man  by  the  name  of  George  Stilts  of  St.  Lonis,  Mo., 
and  went  to  California  with  him  in  1849.  Stilts  was  a 
reckless  man,  and  turned  out  to  be  a  regular  desperado. 
After  traveling  about  in  California  with  her  husband  a 
while,  she  left  liim,  and  went  to  Mono  Lake  with  a  gen- 
tleman and  his  family,  and  died  there.  She  was  a 
noble  looking  woman,  of  mixed  complexion,  black 
eyes  and  long  black  hair,  and  could  excel  most  men  in 
the  use  of  the  rifle. 

After  seeing  her  grave  properly  fenced,  and  recruit- 
ing our  animals,  we  started  for  Silver  Peak,  which  is  a 
high  mountain  covered  at  the  top  with  perpetual  snow. 
Here  we  saw  valuable  silver  mines,  worked  scientifical- 
ly by  a  large  company  from  New  York.  The  quartz 
rock  is  transported  from  the  mountain  to  the  crushing 
mills  in  the  valley  below,  several  miles  distant.  We 
saw  one  twenty  stamp  mill  there  which  crushed  over 
forty  tons  of  the  rock  per  day,  and  they  said  it  yielded 
sometimes  fifty  dollars  per  ton  ! 

We  left  here  for  Virginia  City,  Nevada,  and  the  first 
day  out  overtook  a  Dutchman  on  foot,  carrying  on  his 
back  a  shovel,  pick,  and  large  gold  pan,  two  blankets, 
and  some  provisions.  We  asked  where  he  was  from, 
and  he  answered  from  "  Dat  miserable  Yite  Pine  shet- 
tlement."  As  we  had  an  extra  pack  mule,  we  offered 
him  the  use  of  it  to  i)ack  his  things  oh  ;  but  for  some 
reason  he  refused  it,  saying  he  ought  to  suff'er  some 
hardship  for  being  such  a  fool  as  to  come  out  there. 
He  came  up  with  us  at  night  where  we  were  encamped, 


COMMUNICATIO:^^   FROM   THE   MEXICAN   GIIIL.      449 

and  Htopped  witli  us.  His  feet  were  blistei-ed,  and  lie 
looked  so  worn  out  that  we  gave  liim  some  coffi.'e,  wLicdi 
revived  him.  In  the  morning  we  persuaded  him  to  use 
my  jack  and  ride  on  top  of  liis  things. 

After  carrying  this  load  some  three  or  four  miles,  the 
donkey,  which  had  no  bridle  on,  in  going  into  a  stream 
of  water  to  drink,  elevated  his  hind  feet  and  sent  the 
Dutchman  over  his  head  into  the  water.  Striking  on  his 
back,  with  a  part  of  his  traps  falling  on  his  In-ad, 
he  would  have  made  a  laughable  sketch  for  an 
artist.  Crawling  out  of  the  wati^r  and  picking  up  his 
goods,  he  began  raving  and  cursing  the  donkey  in  all 
the  languages  he  knew.  He  began  stripping  off  his 
clothing  to  dry  in  the  sun,  and  begged  me  to  unload 
the  rest  of  his  luggage  and  trumpery  off  that  donkey, 
swearing  that  it  was  the  last  animal  of  that  kind  he 
would  ever  get  on  to.  We  took  off  his  things,  bade 
him  good-bye,  and  left  him  to  his  own  devices,  and 
arrived  at  Big  Pine  on  Bishop' s  creek  that  evening. 

From  Bishop' s  creek  we  went  to  Aurora,  where  we 
stopped  a  day,  and  then  proceeded  to  Virginia  City, 
where  we  prospected  for  a  few  days,  leaving  the  Mexi- 
can girl  at  a  boarding  place,  where  she  could  get  rested 
from  the  fatigue  of  her  travels.  We  found  one  claim 
which  we  recorded  and  sold  for  seven  hundred  dollars. 

One  evening,  our  Mexican  girl,  (I  say  our^  for  we  all 
felt  a  deep  interest  in  her,)  remarked  in  presence  of  our 
party,  who  were  at  supper,  that  she  wished  to  speak 
with  me  aside,  to  ask  my  advice.  She  said  in  the  in- 
terview that  Burns  had  proposed  to  marry  Ikm-,  and,  as 
she  had  no  relatives  to  go  to,  and  regarded  me  as  a 
friend  and  fiither  to  her,  she  wished  to  ask  me  if  Mr. 
Burns  would  not  prove  a  suitable  husband,  and  in- 
quired how  long  I  had  known  him,  &c.     I  recommend- 


450  THE   WEDDING. 

ed  him  as  a  good-natured,  truthful  man,  and  advised 
her,  if  she  liked  him  well  enough,  to  marry  forthwith. 
Then  calling  in  Mr.  Burns,  I  asked  him,  before  her, 
whether  it  was  his  intention  to  marry  her  ;  and  he  re- 
jilied  that  it  was. 

I  announced  then  to  Jones  and  Louis  that  important 
business  was  on  the  docket,  for  Burns  and  the  girl  were 
to  be  married  on  the  coming  Tliursday,  (this  was  on 
Monday,)  and  asked  them  if  they  would  consent  to 
spend  the  seven  hundred  dollars  for  which  we  sold  out 
our  claim,  on  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  so  as  to  have 
a  wedding  that  would  become  the  dignity  of  our  party, 
and  leave  some  spending  money  for  the  happy  couple. 
They  willingly  consented,  leaving  it  to  me  to  plan  the 
whole  thing  and  see  that  nothing  was  lacking.  I  agreed 
to  get  the  outside  garments  for  the  bride,  and  gave  her 
money  to  purchase  what  she  needed  to  complete  the 
outfit.  I  happened  to  find  a  good  silk  dress  at  a  ladies' 
furnishing  store,  all  made  in  style,  whicli,  with  some 
slight  alterations,  fitted  charmingly.  When  she  came 
bustling  from  lier  room  into  the  parlor  of  our  hotel  to 
show  Burns  and  me  the  fit  of  her  new  dress,  the  day 
before  the  marriage,  she  appeared  so  happy  that  I  felt 
rewarded  for  all  my  pains  on  her  account.  She  showed 
by  her  pleased  actions,  however,  that  it  was  the  first 
silk  dress  she  was  ever  the  owner  of. 

The  marriage  ceremony  was  performed  in  the  hotel 
parlor  by  Judge  Hanner,  an  old  friend  of  mine,  who 
resided  in  the  place.  We  had  as  good  a  private  din- 
ner as  Virginia  city  could  furnish,  and  after  dinner  a 
dance,  which  the  guests  of  the  house  kept  up  till  3 
o'clock  next  morning. 

We  remained  at  the  Viginia  City  Hotel  several  days 
after  the  wedding,  and  then  proceeded  to  Grass  Valley, 


BURNS   SETTLES   DOWN.  451 

in  company  with  tlio  newly  married  couple,  where  we 
found  great  numbers  of  Chinese,  and  a  splendid  min- 
ing camp.  A  company  were  building  flumes  for  bring- 
ing water  for  mining  purposes  from  one  mountain  to 
another,  a  distance  of  thirty  miles  or  more.  The  cost 
of  t]it3  water  works  was  over  a  million  dollars  to  the 
company.  The  parties  who  constructed  the  water 
works  made  more  money  than  the  miners,  for  they  sold 
them  the  water  at  the  rate  of  three  dollars  per  day  for 
what  would  run  through  an  inch  pipe.  We  remained 
at  Grass  Valley  three  weeks,  purchasing  of  some  of 
the  miners  their  gold  dust  at  fourteen  dollars  per  ounce, 
and  selling  it  to  the  express  company  at  from  seventeen 
to  eigliteen  dollars. 

We  left  here  for  the  San  Joaquin  river,  where  we 
found  fine  lands  for  agricultural  purposes,  grazing 
lands,  &c.  After  remaining  several  days  in  the  vicini- 
ty, finding  many  kind  people  scattered  through  that 
section,  who  were  all  doing  w^ell  at  farming,  Mr  Burns 
concluded  to  settle  down  upon  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land  as  a  squatter.  We  stayed  Avitli  him  till 
we  had  helped  to  build  him  a  log  cabm  with  the  assist- 
ance of  some  neighbors,  and  then  bade  him  and  his  wife 
farewell.  He  still  resides  on  the  same  place,  living  hap- 
pily with  his  wife,  and  has  accumulated  considerable 
property. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

WHILE  we  were  at  San  Joaquin  settlement,  a  party 
of  Mexicans  and  Chilians  came  along,  and,  no- 
ticing tliat  they  were  all  remarkably  well  mounted,  I 
inquired  where  they  were  going.  They  said  to  the 
head  waters  of  the  San  Joaquin  river,  at  Tulare  Lake, 
to  catch  mustang  horses  and  other  stock  which  they 
had  heard  were  running  wild  there.  They  invited  us 
to  accompany  them,  and  Jones  and  I  accepted  the  in- 
vitation ;  but  Louis  left  us  and  went  to  San  Francisco. 

We  went  to  Tulare  Lake  and  found  the  report  about 
the  horses  there  to  be  no  exaggeration.  We  spent 
some  time  in  constructing  a  huge  pen,  three  hundred 
feet  square,  built  of  posts  set  in  the  ground  close  to 
each  other,  and  which  were  nine  feet  high  after  setting. 
From  the  entrance  of  the  pen  wings  were  constructed 
each  way  for  half  a  mile,  the  fence  forming  them  being 
high  enough  to  turn  the  animals  into  the  pen.  The 
horses  would  go  back  from  the  lake  a  dozen  miles  or 
so  for  good  grazing  ground,  and  return  galloping  to  the 
lake  occasionally  for  water,  sometimes  in  straggling 
order,  and  sometimes  in  a  compact  body.  Our  men 
were  so  stationed,  at  long  intervals,  on  each  side  of  the 
trail,  as  to  close  in  behind  the  animals  and  thus  keep 
them  going  in  the  direction  of  the  iiwn,  if  they  showed 
any  disposition  to  go  back  on  coming  in  sight  of  it. 

Our  plans  succeeded  beyond  our  expectations,  as 
the  animals  rushed  into  the  inclosure  at  full  speed, 
filling  it  up  with  a  variety  of  ponies,  mules  and  horses, 


BREAKING  A   HORSE.  453 

when  the  entrance  was  closed  up  and  they  were  secur- 
ed. The  next  business  was  to  lasso  the  animals,  and 
break  tlicni  to  lead,  which  we  could  do  at  our  h'isurc. 
One  gray  stallion  in  the  herd  attracted  my  attention, 
and  1  lassoed  him,  and  after  some  difficulty  got  him 
outsid(!  the  pen  and  ti(3d  him  firmly  to  a  tree,  where  I 
left  him  till  morning  that  he  might  expend  his  strength. 
in  trying  to  get  loose.  In  the  morning  I  found  he  had 
dug  a  hole  in  the  ground  by  pawing  with  his  fore  feet, 
large  enough  to  bury  himself  in ;  and  he  appeared 
rather  worn  out  by  his  exertions.  The  whole  party 
were  now  busy  lassoing  and  breaking  the  animals, 
some  by  one  process  and  some  by  another.  A  Chilian, 
who  had  a  great  deal  to  say  about  his  experience  in 
horse  taming,  offered  to  ride  my  stallion  for  me  to 
break  him ;  but  I  had  no  faitli  in  his  boasting  and 
feared  he  would  get  hurt  if  he  attempted  it,  and  de- 
clined his  offer,  preferring  to  ride  him  myself.  After 
some  handling  I  mounted  him,  when  he  threw  himself 
with  me  on  him  four  times,  but  I  was  always  on  his 
back  when  he  rose.  I  had  him  soon  conquered  so  that 
he  was  quite  docile  under  the  saddle  ;  but  the  Chilian 
soon  after  got  badly  thrown  by  an  obstinate  mule,  and 
after  that  said  but  little  of  his  experience  in  horse- 
taming. 

After  a  week  or  more,  we  got  the  animals  so  that  we 
could  lead  them  by  the  side  of  our  gentle  ones,  and  re- 
turn(^d  with  them  as  far  as  St.  Joseph,  where  the  stock 
was  fairly  divided  and  the  party  separated.  In  the  di- 
vision there  fell  to  Jones  and  me  about  twenty  head, 
which  we  took  to  our  friend  Burns' s  place,  where  we 
remained  till  we  got  them  brok(ni — some  to  the  saddle, 
and  some  of  the  lieaviest  to  harness,  for  work.  After 
several  weeks'  patient  labor,  I  got  the  gray  stallion, 


454  TEXAN   EMIGRANTS    IN   TROUBLE. 

spoken  of  before,  and  wliicli  fell  to  me  in  the  distribu- 
tion, so  well  broken,  that  I  sold  him  for  four  hundred 
dollars.  He  proved  a  very  valuable  animal,  and  after- 
wards won  two  races  on  the  Mission  Dolores  course 
near  San  Francisco.  The  remainder  of  our  stock  Mr. 
Burns  agreed  to  take  good  care  of  on  his  farm,  and 
we  were  to  give  him  one-half  the  increase  for  his 
trouble. 

While  we  were  staying  with  our  friend  Burns  at  the 
San  Joaquin  settlement,  a  messenger  came  into  the 
place  from  Soda  Lake,  with  a  statement  that  an  emi- 
grant party  from  Texas,  were  there  in  a  pitiable  condi- 
tion, as  they  were  very  short  of  provisions,  and  had 
had  their  horses  run  off  by  Indians.  Previous  to 
losing  their  horses  they  had  got  off  the  direct  route, 
and  had  wandered  about  so  long  that  the  provisions 
taken  for  their  journey  had  given  out.  A  contribution 
of  animals  and  jirovisions  for  the  relief  of  the  emi- 
grants was  soon  made  up,  and  a  relief  party  of  ten 
persons  volunteered  to  accompany  the  messenger. 
The  citizens  who  had  contributed  tlie  articles  requested 
me  to  take  the  lead  of  the  party  and  push  on  with  all 
haste  to  the  sufferers.  We  traveled  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible, and  when  we  arrived  within  about  ten  miles  of 
the  place  where  the  emigrant  wagons  were,  we  met  a 
number  of  the  party,  who  had  become  impatient  at  the 
delay  in  the  return  of  their  messenger,  and  had  wan- 
dered away  from  the  others,  in  their  efforts  to  find 
some  settlement.  We  gave  them  food,  and  they  re- 
turned with  us  to  their  friends. 

On  our  arrival  at  the  wagons,  the  scene  was  affecting. 
The  whole  party  were  suffering  for  food,  and  crowded 
anxiously  about  us.  Their  joy  and  gratitude  at  find- 
ing  that  we  were  well  supplied  with   provisions  for 


PROSPECTING.  455 

them,  was  more  than  siiflicieiit  to  repay  us  for  any 
trouble  we  liacl  been  at  in  reacliing  tliem.  After  giving 
our  liorses  time  to  eat  and  rest  a  little,  we  harnessed 
them  to  the  wagons  and  started  for  San  Joaquin  settle- 
ment. Tlie  emigrants,  wlio  numbered  in  all  about  sev- 
enty-five had  not  decided  on  any  definite  place  to  settle, 
but  naturally  wished  to  see  tlie  peojile  who  had  so 
quickly  responded  to  their  cry  for  help. 

On  our  return  journey  we  procured  a  quantity  of 
provisions  at  a  government  station,  called  Taycon, 
where  the  commander.  Colonel  Allen,  trc^ated  the  party 
kindly,  furnishing  all  they  needed.  We  got  the  ti-ain 
through  in  safety  to  San  Joaquin  settlement,  where  the 
entire  party  were  so  pleased  with  the  country  that 
the}^  decided  to  take  up  land  in  the  vicinity,  either  by 
purchase  or  otherwise. 

Mr.  Burns  took  gn^at  interest  in  these  people,  assist- 
ing them  materially  in  the  selection  of  lands,  and  pick- 
ing out  pleasant  locations ;  for  he  desired  them  as 
neiglibors,  and  in  due  time  they  all  settled  near  him. 
The  countr}'  around  abounded  in  game,  the  waters  of 
the  river  with  fish,  so  that  all  these  people  had  to  buy 
was  flour,  clothing,  and  groceries.  They  are  still  resid- 
ing in  that  vicinity,  and  have  nice  farms  and  are  doing 
well. 

Jones  and  I  remained  at  the  settlement  about  a  month 
longer,  when  we  made  a  contract  with  an  agent  of  a 
New  York  companj^  to  go  to  the  Sierra  Nevada  moun- 
tains prospecting  for  metals.  The  emigrants  tried  to 
dissuade  us  from  tht^  undertaking,  urging  us  to  settle 
down  beside  them  ;  but  finding  us  determined  to  leave, 
they  offi^red  to  raise  a  purse  for  our  ben(^fit  as  some 
compensation  for  our  services  in  theu-  behalf.  We  de- 
clined their  proposed  gift,  telling  them  they  would  find 


45G        COT^TRACT   WITH    A   KEW   YORK   COMPANY. 

a  use  for  all  tlieir  spare  funds,  and  that  they  were  wel- 
come for  what  we  had  done  for  them,  as  it  was  nothing 
more  tlian  we  should  do  for  other  parties  in  like  cir- 
cumstances, without  expecting  any  reward.  Among 
the  emio-rants  was  a  widow,  who  offered  to  make  a 
present  of  herself  to  me  for  life ;  but  I  declined  that 
offer  also,  telling  her  I  had  a  wife  already  among  th^ 
Indians,  which  seemed  to  take  her  by  surprise.  We 
left  all  our  animals  with  Burns,  except  two  riding 
horses  and  two  pack  mules. 

The  agent  who  employed  us  offered  to  pay  us  a  cer- 
tain salary,  besides  all  our  expenses,  and  give  us  in 
addition  a  one  third  interest  in  what  mines  we  might 
discover.  He  was  to  pay  also  the  entire  expense  of 
working  any  mine  that  we  found,  which  proved  valu- 
able. When  we  arrived  at  the  mountains  we  com- 
menced prospecting  as  soon  as  we  had  pitched  our 
camp.  The  next  day  I  discovered  a  silver  ledge,  which 
I  deemed  valuable,  and,  according  to  custom  and  regu- 
lation, I  posted  up  a  notice  to  cover  the  claim  in  be- 
half of  the  New  York  company.  We  remained  in  this 
vicinity  three  months,  and  during  that  time  discovered 
and  marked  fourteen  ledges  of  different  metals,  viz.  : 
gold,  silver,  and  lead,  one  of  which  had  a  trace  of 
quicksilv(?r. 

On  our  return  to  Yisalia,  the  nearest  county  seat  to 
the  mountains,  we  had  these  ledges  recorded  in  the 
name  of  the  New  York  company,  reserving  for  our- 
selves a  pne-third  interest.  Then  we  returned  to  our 
friend  Burns  and  the  settlement  of  our  new  friends,  the 
emigrants,  on  the  San  Joaquin. 

The  agency  of  the  New  York  company  was  in  San 
Francisco,  and  as  Jones  was  pretty  well  used  up  he 
desired  me  to  go  and  report  there  what  we  had  done. 


ANOTHER   PARTNER   MARRIED.  457 

I  went  by  boat  to  San  Francisco,  showed  my  spocimcns 
at  the  coiii2)aiiy's  oliicc,  wliere  tlicy  were  assayed,  and 
pronounced  equal  to  the  average  California  mines.  They 
infoi-nied  nie  tliat  their  company  had  iiurchased  a  large 
interest  in  the  AVashoe  mines,  which  had  proved  worth- 
less, and  in  consequence  their  company  had  become 
insolvent ;  but  that  in  a  short  time  a  new  company 
woukl  be  formed  out  of  the  ruins  of  the  old  one,  with 
plenty  of  capital,  when  they  would  examine  the  ledges 
we  had  discovered. 

I  told  them  that  did  not  suit  me  at  all,  and  I  wanted 
the  privilege  of  selling  out  to  other  parties,  if  they 
could  not  pay  me,  and  also  to  go  on  with  mining  ac- 
corduig  to  agreement.  They  finally  said  if  I  would 
wait  a  month,  if  at  the  end  of  that  time  they  were  not 
in  shape  to  comply  with  my  terms,  they  would  release 
me  from  the  contract  and  allow  me  to  sell  out  to  any 
other  parties.  I  agreed  to  this,  and  wont  back  to  my 
friend  Burns,  where  I  waited  a  month,  and  then  re- 
ceived from  the  agents  of  the  company  a  communica- 
tion releasing  me  from  the  contract,  and  making  over 
to  Jones  and  myself  all  their  interest  in  the  mines. 
After  consultation  with  Jones  about  the  matter,  I 
found  that  he  w^as  quite  indifferent  about  working  the 
mines  with  me,  on  our  own  account,  for  he  said  he  had 
been  prospecting  nearer  home,  and  had  found  a  Texan 
widow  who  was  quite  willing  to  marry  him,  and  he  said 
he  thought  he  had  better  settle  dowm  on  a  fiirm  with 
her  and  go  to  raising  mules  and  horses.  This  was  the 
same  widow  that  had  offered  herself  to  me  as  a  partner 
on  a  former  occasion.  The  result  was  that  they  were 
soon  marri(xl  and  settled  on  a  farm  near  our  friend 
Burns.  This  was  the  third  partner  I  had  lost  by 
matrimony. 


458  A  VISIT   TO   THE   COMAXCIIES. 

Feeling  desolate  and  forsaken,  I  concluded  to  take 
up  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  near  my 
friends,  which  I  covered  by  land  warrants,  received  for 
services  under  Colonel  Doniphan,  and  which  I  still 
hold,  considering  it  my  home.  On  the  land  I  erected 
a  comfortable  house,  and  put  some  stock  on  the  place, 
hiring  a  family  to  occupy  the  house  and  take  charge  of 
the  farm. 

I  then  resolved  to  make  another  visit  to  my 
Comanche  friends,  and,  bidding  my  old  comrades 
adieu,  started  with  one  horse  and  a  pack  mule  across 
the  White  Mountains  through  the  Apache  country, 
heading  for  Alberquerque  in  New  Mexico,  thence  east- 
erly to  Little  Red  river  between  New  Mexico  and 
Texas,  where,  from  my  knowledge  of  Comanche  habits, 
I  might  hope  to  find  some  of  them  at  this  season  of  the 
year.  I  soon  struck  a  trail  of  a  Comanche  war-party 
returning  from  a  raid  into  Mexico,  and,  finding  it 
fresh,  followed  it  up  until  I  arrived  at  the  camping 
ground  of  the  nation,  where  I  was  warmly  received  by 
my  old  friends  and  relations,  and  found  that  no  great 
change  had  taken  place  since  my  last  visit.  I  stayed 
for  some  weeks  with  them  enjoying  the  hunting  and 
feasting,  and  will  here  describe  some  feats  of  horse- 
manship which  I  have  omitted  in  the  previous  chap- 
ters. 

There  is  one  warlike  feat  in  which  all  the  Comanche 
warriors  are  trained  from  their  infancy.  As  the  man 
is  dashing  along  with  his  horse  at  full  speed,  he  will 
suddenly  drop  over  the  side  of  his  horse,  leaving  no 
part  of  his  person  visible,  except  the  sole  of  one  foot, 
which  is  fastened  over  the  horse's  back,  as  a  purchase 
by  which  he  can  pull  himself  to  an  upright  position. 
In  this  attitude  he  can  ride  for  any  distance,  and,  more- 


COMAXCIIES   AXD   THEIR   HORSES.  450 

over,  can  use  with  deadly  effect  either  his  bow  or 
fourteen-foot  lance.  One  of  their  favorite  modes 
of  attack  is  to  gallop  towards  the  enemy  at  full 
speed,  and  then,  just  before  they  come  witliin  range, 
they  drop  upon  the  opposite  side  of  their  horses,  dash 
past  the  foe,  and  pour  upon  hiiu  a  shower  of  arrows 
directed  under  tlu^r  horses'  necks,  and  sometimes  even 
thrown  under  their  bellies.  All  the  time  it  is  nearly 
useless  for  the  enemy  to  return  the  shots,  as  the  whole 
body  of  the  Comanche  is  hidden  behind  the  horse,  and 
there  is  nothing  to  aim  at  save  the  foot  just  projecting 
over  the  animal's  back. 

Sometimes  the  Comanches  try  to  steal  upon  their 
enemies  by  leaving  tlieir  lances  behind  them,  slinging 
themselves  along  the  sides  of  their  steeds,  and  ap- 
proaching carelessly,  as  though  they  were  nothing  but 
a  troop  of  wild  horses  without  riders.  A  quick  eye  is 
needed  to  detect  this  ruse,  which  is  generally  betrayed 
by  the  fact  that  the  horses  always  keep  the  same  side 
towards  the  spectator,  which  would  very  seldom  be  the 
case  were  they  wild  and  unrestrained  in  their  move- 
ments. Every  Comanche  has  one  favorite  horse,  wliich 
he  never  mounts,  except  for  war  or  the  chase,  using  an 
inferior  animal  upon  ordinary  occasions.  Swiftness  is 
the  chief  quality  for  which  the  charger  is  selected,  and 
for  no  price  w^ould  the  owner  part  with  his  favorite 
steed.  Like  all  uncivilized  people,  he  ti-eats  his  horse 
with  a  strange  mixture  of  cruelty  and  kindness.  AVhile 
engaged  in  the  chase,  for  example,  he  spurs  and  whips 
the  animal  most  ruthlessly  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  returns, 
lie  carefully  hands  over  his  valued  animal  to  his 
women,  who  are  waiting  to  receive  it,  and  who  treats  it 
as  if  it  were  a  cherished  member  of  the  fiimily. 

The  mode  in  which  the  Indians  supply  themselves 
30 


460  LASSOING  HORSES. 

with  liorses  is  wortli  a  brief  description.  In  various 
parts  of  the  country  tlie  liorses  have  completely  accli- 
matized themselves,  and  have  run  free  for  many  years, 
so  that  they  have  lost  all  traces  of  domestication,  and 
have  become  as  truly  wild  as  the  buffalo  or  antelope, 
assemblmg  in  large  herds,  headed  by  the  strongest  and 
swiftest  animals. 

It  is  from  these  herds  that  the  Indians  supply  them- 
selves mth  the  horses  which  of  late  years  have  become 
absolutely  necessary  to  them  ;  and  in  most  cases  are 
captured  in  fair  chase  after  the  following  manner. 
When  a  Comanche  wishes  to  catch  a  fresh  horse,  he 
mounts  his  best  steed  and  goes  in  search  of  the  nearest 
herd.  When  he  has  come  as  near  as  he  can  without 
being  discovered,  he  dashes  at  the  herd  at  full  speed, 
and,  singling  out  one  of  the  horses,  as  it  gallops  along, 
hampered  by  the  multitude  of  its  companions,  throws 
his  lasso  over  its  neck.  As  soon  as  the  noose  has  firm- 
ly settled,  the  hunter  leaps  off  his  own  steed  (which  is 
trained  to  remain  standing  upon  the  same  spot  until  it 
is  wanted,)  and  allows  himself  to  be  dragged  on  by  the 
affrighted  animal,  which  soon  falls,  in  consequence  of 
being  choked  by  the  leathern  cord.  When  the  horse 
has  fallen  the  hunter  comes  cautiously  up,  keeping  the 
lasso  tight  enough  to  prevent  the  animal  from  fairly  re- 
covering its  breath,  and  loose  enough  to  guard  against 
its  entire  strangulation,  and  at  last  is  able  to  place  one 
liand  over  its  eyes,  and  the  other  on  its  nostrils.  The 
horse  is  now  at  his  mercy.  In  order  to  impress  upon 
the  animal  the  fact  of  its  servitude,  he  hobbles  together 
its  fore-feet  for  a  time,  and  fastens  a  noose  to  its  lower 
jaw  ;  but  within  a  wonderfully  short  period  he  is  able 
to  remove  the  hobbles,  and  to  ride  the  conquered  ani- 
mal into  camp.    During  the  time  occupied  in  taming 


I 


/JT 


i^^wrM'—^n^vTr'::^ 


^^r 

.^ 


CREASING    HORSES.  4G1 

tlie  horse,  it  plunges  and  struggles  in  the  wildest  man- 
ner ;  but  after  this  one  struggle  it  yields  the  point,  and 
becomes  the  willing  slave  of  its  conqueror. 

The  rapidity  with  which  this  operation  is  comph'ted 
is  reall}^  wonderfid.  An  experienced  hunter  is  able  to 
chase,  capture,  and  break  a  wild  horse  within  an  hour, 
and  to  do  his  work  so  efiectually  that  almost  befon^  its 
companions  are  out  of  sight  the  hitherto  ^\'ild  animal 
is  being  ridden  as  if  it  had  been  born  in  servitude. 
The  native  hunter,  cruel  master  though  he  generally  is, 
takes  special  care  not  to  damjif'U  the  spirit  of  his  horse, 
and  prides  himself  on  the  bounds  and  curvets  wliich 
the  creature  makes  when  it  receives  its  master  upon  its 
back. 

There  is  only  one  drawback  to  this  mode  of  hunting. 
It  is  impossible  to  capture  with  the  lasso  the  best  and 
swiftest  specimens.  These  animals  always  take  com- 
mand of  the  herd,  and  place  themselves  at  its  head. 
They  seem  to  assume  the  responsibility  as  well  as  the 
position  of  leaders,  and,  as  soon  as  they  fear  danger, 
dart  off  at  full  speed,  knowing  that  the  herd  will  follow 
them.  Consequently  they  are  often  half  a  mile  or  more 
in  advance  of  th(>ir  followers,  so  that  the  hunter  has  no 
chance  of  overtaking  them  on  a  horse  imj^eded  by  the 
weight  of  a  rider. 

A  new  method  of  horse-taking  has  been  invented 
since  the  introduction  of  fire-arms.  This  is  called 
"creasing,"  and  is  done  in  the  following  manner. 
Taking  his  rifle  with  him,  the  hunter  creeps  as  near  the 
lierd  as  he  can,  and  watches  till  he  fixes  on  a  horse 
that  he  thinks  will  suit  him.  Waiting  till  the  animal 
is  standing  with  its  side  towards  him,  he  aims  carefully 
at  the  top  of  the  neck  and  fires.  If  the  aim  b(^  correct, 
the  bullet  just  grazes  the  neck,  and  the  horse  falls  as 


4G2  DISADVANTAGES   OF   CREASING. 

if  dead,  stunned  for  the  moment  by  the  shock.  It  re- 
covers Avithin  a  very  short  time  ;  but  before  it  has  re- 
trained its  feet,  tlie  liunter  is  able  to  come  up  with  the 
prostrate  animal,  hobble,  and  secure  it. 

This  is  a  very  effectual  method  of  horse-catching, 
but  it  is  not  in  favor  with  those  who  want  horses  for 
their  own  riding,  because  it  always  breaks  the  spirit  of 
the  animal,  and  deprives  him  of  that  fire  and  animation 
which  the  native  warrior  prizes  so  highly.  The  horses 
that  are  generally  brought  into  settlements  to  sell  are 
those  tliat  are  obtained  by  "creasing."  Experienced 
purchasers,  however,  do  not  care  much  about  such  ani- 
mals. Creasing  is,  moreover,  liable  to  two  disadvan- 
tages. The  hunter  is  equally  in  danger  of  missing  his 
mark  altogether,  in  which  case  the  whole  herd  dashes 
off,  and  gives  no  more  chances  to  the  hunter  ;  or  of 
striking  too  low,  inwliich  case  the  horse  is  killed  on  the 
spot.  I  once  killed  a  splendid  stallion  in  this  niannei-, 
the  ball  going  an  inch  below  the  right  spot. 

After  a  few  weeks  of  these  diversions  with  the  tribe?, 
my  old  restlessness  returned,  impelling  me  once  more 
to  set  out  for  California.  I  therefore  bade  my  friends 
adieu,  and  taking  advantage  of  the  dei)arture  of  a  war 
party  whose  route  would  take  me  some  way  on  the 
road  I  wished  to  travel,  I  started  with  them  and  ac- 
companied them  to  a  place  near  Paso  del  Norte,  where 
I  part(3d  from  them  to  pursue  my  lonely  path  through 
Arizona,  by  way  of  Mesilla  and  Prescott,  passing 
through  the  Apache  country  without  having  my  hair 
"lifted"  by  those  enterprising  and  peaceful  savages. 
This  might  be  owing  to  their  forbearance,  but  possibly, 
my  own  vigilance  contributed  somewhat  to  that  result. 
I  reached  San  Bernadino,  a  Mormon  settlement  in  Los 
Angeles  county,  California,  thence  took  a  north  direc- 


AID   TO    MKXICAN    SHEPHERDS.  463 

tion  by  wliat  is  called  the  coast  range  to  Fort  Tejon. 
Upon  arriving  at  what  is  caUcd  Tejon  mountain,  I  laid 
by  for  a  few  days  to  recruit  my  animals,  who  were 
pretty  well  worn  out.  While  there  I  lived  among  sev- 
eral Mexican  shepherds  who  kept  large  flocks  of  sheep 
and  goats,  and  learning  that  they  were  troubled  by 
the  nightly  visits  of  a  grizzly  bear  who  loved  mutton, 
"not  wisely,  but  too  well,''  I  offered  to  rid  them  of 
him.  We  built  a  scaffold  near  the  scene  of  his  depre- 
dations, and,  jDlacing  a  sheep  convenient  for  him,  I 
took  up  my  position  on  the  platform  at  nightfall  and 
waited  for  him.  In  an  hour  or  two  he  made  his  ap- 
pearance, and  commenced  his  supper,  but  a  shot  from 
my  rifle  disturbed  his  repast  and  disquieted  him  very 
much.  A  second  shot  restored  his  tranquility,  by 
taking  aw^ay  his  breath,  and  the  shepherds  were  en- 
abled in  a  measure  to  get  square  with  him  upon  the 
mutton  account,  by  making  a  feast  of  him.  After  re- 
maining with  these  hospitable  people  eight  days,  I  re- 
turned to  my  home  in  Tulare  county. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

A  SHORT  time  after  my  return  from  my  visit  to  the 
Comanches,  I  was  sent  for  by  the  commander  at 
Fort  Tt'jon  to  act  as  guide  for  a  surveying  party  to  be. 
sent  by  order  of  the  United  States  government  to  ex- 
plore the  route  across  the  desert  from  the  Sierra  Neva- 
das  to  Fort  Mohave,  Arizona,  I  had  thus  officiated 
once  before  and  did  not  relish  the  job,  though  I  finally 
accepted  it.  I  told  Colonel  Allen  of  the  fort  and  the 
chief  engineer  that  the  country  was  not  worth  explor- 
ing, and  that  there  would  be  great  danger  of  suffering 
on  the  route  from  scarcity  of  water  and  forage.  The 
surveys  had  to  be  made,  they  said,  any  way,  and  with 
a  party  of  twenty-four  we  succeeded  in  reaching  Fort 
Mohave  after  enduring  some  hardships  and  abandon- 
ing one  of  our  wagons,  which  was  afterwards  re- 
covered. 

While  at  the  fort  I  met  some  of  the  tribe  of  Indians 
who  had  formerly  held  in  captivity  the  Mexican  girl 
who  was  married  to  Burns,  and  they  recognized  me  as 
the  man  who  had  taken  her  away  from  them.  These 
Indians  had  become  friendly,  and  had  settled  on  a  res- 
ervation near  the  fort.  They  inquir(^d  after  the  girl, 
and  I  gave  them  the  particulars  of  her  marriage  to  my 
friend  Burns.  They  could  not  be  n^concihxl,  however, 
to  my  taking  away  th(i  girl  so  summarily,  especially 
complaining  of  that  shot  of  mine  which  killed  the 
leader's  horse,  and  said  tliey  considtTed  me  a  bad  man. 
On  the  return  the  suiTeying  jmrty  took  a  southerly 


AN    EX-llOBBER.  465 

route,  heading  for  San  Diego,  through  the  coast  moun- 
tain range,  which  route  was  comparatively  pk'asant, 
abounding  in  game,  plenty  of  water,  &c.  We  went  to 
San  Francisco,  where  I  was  paid  off,  and  remained  a 
while  at  the  Eldorado  hotel. 

AVhile  in  the  city  I  met,  one  evening,  Doctor  Perfon- 
ton,  wlio  was  years  before  connected  with  a  not(;d  gang 
of  robbers,  but  wlio  now  was  residing  in  the;  city  and  ed- 
iting a  paper,  mainly  devoted  to  scandal.  Our  interview 
was  not  pleasant  for  the  following  reasons.  !Many 
years  before,  when  his  band  of  thieves  were  at  the 
height  of  their  power,  robbing  and  murdering  indis- 
criminately, I  had  the  pleasure  of  assisting  in  the  ex- 
termination of  the  band.  A  rich  Mexican  merchant, 
named  Charvis,  was  on  his  way  from  New  Mexico  to 
St.  Louis  with  a  train  of  wagons  and  a  large  amount 
of  money,  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  goods.  The 
train  was  met  by  this  gang  of  Perfonton's  on  the 
plains,  at  a  place  known  as  cow  creek,  and,  excepting 
Mr.  Charvis  and  one  of  his  teamsters,  tlie  whole  party 
were  brutally  murdered.  Mr.  Charvis  was  spared  a 
short  time  to  make  him  disclose  where  the  money  was 
concealed,  and  after  the  money  was  found  he  was  mur- 
dered also.  The  teamster,  who  escaped,  made  his  way 
to  Fort  Leavenwortli,  where  he  reported  tlie  massacre 
and  obtained  a  party  of  soldiers  to  go  in  pursuit.  I 
happened  to  be  out  hunting  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
Pawnee  Fork,  with  a  party  from  Bent's  Fort,  when  the 
soldiers  from  the  fort  came  along  and  told  us  of  the 
destruction  of  the  train  ;  and  when  they  foiyid  that  we 
knew  tlie  country,  request(^d  us  to  go  with  them  and 
assist  in  finding  the  murden^rs. 

After  four  days'  search,  aided  by  the  teamster  for  a 
guide,  we  met  this  band  of  robbers,  who  little  dreamed 


4G6  EECOLLECTIOKS. 

of  an  attack  by  government  troops.  They  attempted 
to  escape,  but  I  shot  Perfonton's  horse  from  under 
him,  and  a  soklier  shot  one  of  the  band  named  Asbury, 
when  the  party  surrendered.  The  money  was  mostly 
recovered,  over  one  hundred  thousand  dolhirs,  and  the 
robbers  taken  to  St.  Louis,  tried  and  hung,  with  the 
exception  of  Doctor  Perfonton,  who  escaped  the  gal- 
lows by  turning  state's  evidence,  and  was  sent  to  the 
penitentiary,  from  which,  after  staying  two  years,  he 
was  pardoned. 

The  money  retaken  from  the  robbers  was  given  in 
charge  to  Colonel  Owens,  a  friend  of  the  Charvis  fami- 
ly, who  was  a  leading  man  of  the  Santa  Fe  trade. 
Colonel  Owens  went  forward  with  the  teams  to  St. 
Louis,  purchased  the  goods,  and  sent  back  the  train 
and  property  to  Santa  Fe,  under  the  management  of 
Doctor  Conley  of  Booneville,  Missouri.  Charvis' s 
Avidow  emx)loyed  the  doctor  to  sell  out  the  goods  and 
take  charge  of  her  property  ;  after  a  year  or  two  they 
were  married,  and  settled  on  one  of  the  largest  stock 
farms  in  New  Mexico.  Mr.  Charvis  was  a  man  uni- 
versally respected,  and  the  murder  of  himself  and 
friends  produced  much  excitement.  Doctor  Conley 
lived  about  eight  years  after  his  marriage,  and  left  a 
son  who  is  being  educated  in  the  college  at  Santa  Clara, 
California. 

To  return  to  my  interview  with  Perfonton  at  the  El- 
dorado Hotel,  in  San  Francisco.  When  he  saw  me 
standing  conversing  with  a  party  of  gentlemen,  he  eyed 
me  for  so:gie  time  ;  and  when  a  favorable  opportunity 
presented,  inquired  if  we  had  not  met  somewhere  be- 
fore. I  asked  him  if  he  remembered  how  I  shot  his 
horse  on  the  plains  after  the  murder  of  Charvis  and 
party  ;  which  caused  him  to  turn  deathly  pale,  and  he 


SHEEP   RAISING.  4C7 

begged  me  not  to  expose  liiiii.  He  said  lie  was  now- 
leading  an  honest  life,  and  was  managing  the  publica- 
tion of  a  paper.  I  told  him  to  have  no  fears  of  my  ex- 
posing him,  so  long  as  he  behaved  himself;  but  should 
he  pursue  the  opposite  course,  he  might  ex2:)ect  me  to 
reveal  his  former  character.  I  often  met  him  after- 
wards in  San  Francisco,  but  he  never  was  (,'asy  in  my 
presence.  He  died  in  Oakland  a  few  years  ago,  leav- 
ing a  family  ;  and  I  am  not  aware  that  any  one  in  those 
parts  ever  found  out  his  true  character  or  connection 
with  the  aforesaid  murders. 

After  remaining  a  short  time  in  San  Francisco,  I  re- 
turned to  my  friends  Jones  and  Burns.  Our  Texan 
emigrants  proved  good  neighbors,  and  were  breaking 
their  lands,  putting  in  crops,  &c. 

My  farm  in  the  vicinity,  not  being  large  enough  for 
a  stock  ranche,  I  purchased  land  adjoining,  and  de- 
cided to  stock  it  with  sheep.  A  friend  of  mine  living 
at  some  distance,  sent  me  word  to  come  and  see  him 
about  sheep,  as  he  had  nearly  four  thousand  head,  and 
circumstances  compelled  him  to  offer  me  a  part  of  them 
on  shares.  I  agreed  to  take  two  thousand  to  care  for, 
and  give  him  half  the  wool  and  half  the  increase,  re- 
turning him  also  the  original  number  at  the  end 
of  two  years.  The  first  season  scarcely  any  rain  fell 
in  that  section,  and  I  was  obliged  to  take  them  to 
the  Sierra  Nevada  mountains  and  hire  them  pastured 
in  order  to  keep  them  alive.  AVlien  the  rainy  sea- 
son came  on  I  got  the  sheep  back  to  the  San  Joaquin 
valley,  where  I  kept  them  till  the  two  years  had  ex- 
pired, when  on  setth^ment  with  Mr.  Caruthers,  I  had 
about  two  thousand  head  of  sheep  and  lambs  for  my 
share. 

Leaving  my  flocks  in   the   care  of    my  uncle  and 


4G8  A   FRIEND   IN   TROUBLE. 

proper  liordsmen,  I  have  since  been  employed  in  vari- 
ous trips  over  that  country.  One  of  tliese  trips  was 
as  guide  with  a  Mr.  Ray,  over  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  witli 
a  large  Hock  of  slieejj  which  he  was  taking  to  Virginia 
City,  Nevada.  AVe  started  the  first  of  July,  and  the 
fourth,  at  night,  while  camped  under  a  large  old  syca- 
more tree,  a  heavy  shock  of  an  earthquake  rattled  the 
large  limbs  down  upon  us,  killing  Mr.  Ray  and  wound- 
ing two  of  the  Mexican  shepherds.  Mr.  Ray's  son, 
wlio  was  sleeping  near  his  father,  was  uninjured,  and  I 
escaped  with  a  few  bruises  ;  but  one  of  our  wagons 
with  provisions  was  nearly  wrecked.  I  returned  to 
Poterville  (Mr.  Ray' s  residence)  with  his  body,  in  com- 
pany with  his  son.  The  sheep  were  left  in  care  of  the 
servants  who  were  acting  as  shepherds,  till  our  return, 
then  we  proceeded  onward  toward  Virginia  City,  and  I 
left  them,  when  they  got  over  the  mountains  and  couJd 
do  without  my  services. 

On  my  return  home,  I  took  a  new  route,  through  the 
mountains,  passing  a  mining  camp  at  what  was  called 
(xreen  Horn  settlement,  where  I  had  a  friend  Eugene,  a 
Frenchman,  who  kept  a  miner' s  store.  He  was  glad  to 
see  me,  as  he  had  been  robbed  the  night  before  of  four 
thousand  dollars  worth  of  gold  dust  by  a  band  of  four 
robbers,  who  had  made  their  escape ;  and  he  offered 
me  one  thousand  dollars  reward  for  the  recovery  of  the 
property.  I  raised  a  party  of  eight  men  and  followed 
them.  About  thirty  miles  from  the  settlement  they 
had  stolen  some  stage  horses  from  a  station,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  in  money  from  the  proprie- 
tor. Then  they  had  gone  on  to  Walker's  pass,  at  In- 
dian Wells,  and  stolen  more  horses.  Here  we  were  in- 
formed that  the  thieves  were  pretty  drunk  when  they 
left  that  place.     We  tracked  them  to  a  place  called 


CAPTUKE   OF   A   THIEF.  469 

Desert  Springs,  where  tluy  had  robbed  a  liouse  of  sev- 
en liundrcd  dolkirs,  and  a  gold  watch  belonging 
to  a  lady.  Continuing  on  their  track  we  came  uj) 
with  the  rascals,  where  they  had  stopped  f(jr  rest 
over  night;  and  when  they  saw  us  they  opened  ih\t 
on  our  i)arty,  killing  one;  of  our  horses.  We  re- 
turned tlunr  fire,  killing  three  of  them.  We  cap- 
tured the  other  one,  and  recovered  all  the  stolen 
property. 

We  returned  with  our  prisoner,  taking  the  same  route 
we  had  come  over,  in  order  to  restore  the  stolen  prop- 
erty to  the  rightful  owners.  At  Desert  sp)rings  we  re- 
turned the  watch  to  the  lady  ;  and  the  seven  hundred 
dollars  to  the  owner,  Mr.  Johnson,  and  a  pair  of  fine 
horses  they  had  taken  from  him  ;  and  he  in  gratitude 
made  us  a  present  of  two  hundred  dollars.  So  we 
proceeded  homeward,  returning  to  each  sufferer  their 
property  they  had  been  robbed  off,  till  we  arrived  at 
Green  Horn  settlement,  where  we  restored  the  four 
thousand  dollars  in  gold  dust  to  the  Frenchman,  who 
was  made  pcrfe^ctly  happy  by  our  success,  and  paid  us 
the  one  thousand  dollars  reward. 

Our  arrival  with  the  prisoner  was  soon  noised  abroad, 
and  while  we  were  eating  supper  with  Eugene,  and  giv- 
ing our  miserable  horse  thief  the  last  food  he 
would  ever  taste,  of  cmckers,  &c.,  in  the  store, 
where  we  had  him  securely  bound  and  guarded,  we 
were  disturbed  by  cries  from  a  mob  outside  of,  "  Bring 
out  the  robber,''  "Hang  him,"  and  soon  they  found 
liim,  got  a  rope  about  his  neck,  dragged  him  to 
the  nearest  tree,  where  they  hung  Inm  up  and  left 
him. 

He  said  before  being  hung  that  he  belonged  to  a  re- 
spectable family,  but  bad  company  in  Virginia  City, 


470  DECIDE   TO   SETTLE   DOWN. 

Nevada,  had  proved  his  ruin.  He  was  short  of  money 
there,  when  he  was  approaclied  by  his  three  kite  com- 
panions, (one  of  whom  was  only  sixteen  years  old,) 
and  invited  to  join  them  in  their  travels,  which  he  con- 
sented to,  as  they  had  plenty  of  money,  and  offered 
Jiim  all  he  wished.  He  said  the  sixteen  year  old  boy 
we  had  killed  in  his  party,  was  the  worst  character  in 
tile  lot,  being  x:)erfectly  desperate,  and  urging  the  rest 
on  to  murder  and  robbery. 

This  desperado  was,  in  some  respects,  like  many 
others  I  have  seen  executed  under  similar  circum- 
stances. IN^o  matter  how  perfectly  recklessly  they  may 
have  exposed  their  lives  in  their  raids  and  fights,  many 
of  them,  when  they  saw  the  rope  and  rude  gallows  for 
their  execution,  would  cry  and  beg  for  their  lives  to  be 
spared,  as  earnestly  as  a  woman. 

From  this  settlement  I  returned  to  my  place  in  Tu- 
lare county,  and  made  up  my  mind  to  attend  to  the 
business  of  stock  raising,  leaving  the  wild,  roving,  ad- 
venturous life  I  had  led  for  so  many  years,  for  it  hard- 
ly paid  to  be  exposing  my  life  to  hunt  for  gold  or  rob- 
bers. At  all  events,  at  my  period  of  life  it  certainly 
seemed  safer  to  settle  in  Tulare  county  and  take  care 
of  my  stock,  which  was  rapidly  increasing,  and  need- 
ed my  attention. 

After  coming  to  this  conclusion,  I  spent  several 
months  in  selecting  and  purchasing  cattle  for  the 
San  Francisco  market.  I  was  also  often  employed 
by  large  stock  raisers  in  that  vicinity,  in  lassoing  and 
catching  wild  cattle,  for  branding,  and  for  the  mar- 
ket. My  old  experience  with  the  lasso  was  of  great 
service  in  this  line  of  business  ;  for  no  wild  bullock 
could  escape  me  when  I  had  a  good  horse  and  a 
good  lasso. 


STOPPING   A    KUNAWAY   TEAM.  471 

On  one  occasion,  being  out  on  the  plain  a  few  miles 
from  V'isalia,  1  saw  a  carriage  containing  a  lady  and 
her  two  daughters  going  at  a  tremendous  rate  towards 
a  rough,  stumpy  piece  of  land,  where  the  timber  had 
been  cut  olf ;  and  seeing  at  a  glance  that  their  horses 
had  become  frightened,  and  had  left  the  road,  I  put 
spurs  to  my  horse  and  galloped  near  them,  when  I 
threw  my  lasso  over  the  near  horse's  head.  This 
stopped  the  carriage  just  in  time  to  prevent  them  from 
going  to  destruction  among  the  stumps  a  few  rods  be- 
fore them. 

The  ladies  were  much  alarmed,  and  told  me  how 
their  horses  became  frightened  by  some  object  in  the 
road,  and  desired  me  to  drive  them  into  Yisalia,  which 
I  did,  after  fastening  my  horse  behind  their  carriage. 
On  driving  them  to  their  residence  in  the  town,  I  dis- 
covered that  they  were  the  wife  and  daughters  of  Mr. 
Douglass,  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  Yisalia. 
The  husband  and  father,  when  he  heard  of  the  danger 
tliey  had  been  in,  and  had  escaped  from  only  by 
my  hand,  was  very  much  moved  and  wished  to  make 
rae  a  present,  in  token  of  his  gratitude.  This  I  de- 
clined, telling  him  I  never  considered  myself  entitled 
to  any  reward  for  aiding,  or  saving  the  life  of  any  one 
in  dang(»r.  I  was  abundantly  rewarded  for  this  act  by 
the  friendship  of  Mr.  Douglass,  as  ever  since  that  time 
he  has  been  one  of  the  best  friends  I  have  had  in  Cali- 
fornia. 

In  the  San  Joaquin  valley  there  are  numerous  settle- 
ments, and  many  towns  of  considerable  size  ;  but  oc- 
casionally in  that  country  a  wild  animal  will  appear 
that  seems  a  connecting  link  ^^ith  the  period  before  the 
country  became  settled.  On  one  occasion  I  was  out 
lassoing  cattle  with  a  Mexican,  and  had  no  arms,  ex- 


472  CATCHING   AN   ELK. 

oept  a  butcher  knife.  On  returning  homeward  I  came 
in  contact  with  a  stray  elk,  which  I  made  up  my  mind 
to  capture.  He  was  a  tough  customer,  with  horns 
spreading  near  six  feet ;  and  when  I  rode  up  to  him  he 
looked  quite  savage  and  showed  fight  as  soon  as  I 
threw  my  lasso  over  his  horns,  bringing  him  to  a  stand 
still.  He  was  running  when  I  threw  him,  but  on  re- 
gaining his  feet  he  made  for  me  and  my  horse,  present- 
ing a  frightful  appearance,  his  hair  all  turned  the 
wrong  w^ay,  and  in  his  rush  grazed  the  horse  with  his 
horns.  My  Mexican  friend  caught  him  with  his  lasso 
by  the  hind  feet,  when  the  elk  was  thrown  to  the 
ground.  My  trained  horse  kept  my  lasso  tight  on  the 
animal's  horns,  while  the  Mexican  held  him  by  his 
hind  feet,  giving  me  a  chance  to  dismount  and  cut  his 
throat,  which  was  a  good  job,  considering  the  fleetness 
of  such  animals  and  the  difficulty  of  their  capture. 
This  elk  was  of  large  size,  and  his  horns  I  preserved 
and  still  keep  them  at  my  ranche,  near  Visalia,  as  a 
memento  of  a  desperate  struggle  with  an  elk,  and  an 
ornament  over  my  doorway  to  show  to  visitors  who 
happen  to  call  upon  me. 

Among  other  employments  I  engaged  to  fill  a  sub- 
contract for  three  hiindred  and  fifty  head  of  cattle  for 
a  beef  contractor  for  Fort  Tejon,  to  receive  my  pay 
when  the  contract  was  filled.  I  was  successful  in  this 
undertaking,  and  made  money  on  the  job,  satisfying 
all  the  parties  concerned  and  supplying  good  beef. 
After  this  I  returned  to  my  ranche  and  made  some 
heavy  purchases  of  sheep  for  the  San  Francisco  mar- 
ket, which  ventures  always  proved  profitable.  In  that 
vicinity  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  collect  a  few  thousand 
sheep,  as  there  are  many  stock  raisers  that  can  spare 
from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand,  and  scarcely  miss 


8IIEEP   SPECULATIONS. 


473 


them.  I  sold  my  sheep  in  San  Francisco  to  wholesale 
purchasers,  and  might  have  built  up  a  prosperous 
trade  if  I  liad  remained  at  the  business,  but  circum- 
stances prevented  me. 


ti^i^^ 


31 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

IPIXD,  on  looking  over  the  proof  slieets  of  the  fore- 
going pages,  that  by  some  means  I  have  omitted  to 
give  an  account  of  some  of  my  adventures,  w^hich  I 
think  will  prove  of  interest  to  the  reader,  and  have 
thought  best  to  give  them  in  a  chapter  by  themselves 
without  regard  to  the  time  or  order  in  which  they  hap- 
pened. 

At  one  time  I  was  in  Zacatecas,  out  of  employment, 
and  looking  for  a  job,  when  the  agent  of  a  comj^any 
running  stages  from  that  place  to  Agua  Calientes,  some 
seventy  miles  distant,  wished  to  engage  me  as  a  driver 
of  one  of  their  stages,  for  a  short  time,  till  they  could 
fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  one  of  their 
drivers.  This  route  was  infested  by  thieves,  and  rob- 
beries of  the  stage  and  passengers  were  quite  frequent. 
I  remained  in  this  employment  about  five  months,  dur- 
ing which  time  the  stage  was  robbed  several  times  by 
armed  Mexicans.  So  long  as  the  drivers  did  not  ex- 
pose the  robbers,  their  lives  were  safe  enough ;  but  in 
case  of  exposure  their  death  was  certain, — in  conse- 
quence of  which  the  driver's  policy  was  to  keep  silent. 

For  several  weeks  my  stage  was  not  attacked,  but 
tlien  came  a  series  of  robberies.  First  a  priest  and 
several  students  were  on  their  way  to  the  city  of  Mex- 
ico, as  passengers,  and  they  had  consideral)le  money 
in  their  possession.  Before  leaving  Zacatecas  the  stu- 
dents procured  three  or  four  bottles  of  brandy,  which 
they  used  rather  freely,  and  after  going  a  few  miles 


STAGE   ROBBERIES.  476 

they  remarked  that  tlie  route  was  infested  with  rob- 
bers, but  being  well  armed,  tliey  told  me  they  feared 
no  danger.  From  their  hilarious  manner  I  inf(?rred 
that  they  rather  courted  an  attack,  and  told  theni  to 
be  on  the  alert,  for  they  would  all  need  their  weapons, 
provided  the  robbers  should  pounce  upon  us  suddenly. 
After  changing  liorses  at  the  second  station  from  Zaca- 
tecas  and  proceeding  some  three  miles  from  that  point, 
sixteen  robbers  made  their  appearance  at  the  side  of 
the  road  and  rushed  upon  the  stage,  calling  upon  me 
to  halt  and  deliver  what  was  valuable  in  the  stage. 

I  halted  without  waiting  for  the  argument  of 
a  rifle  ball,  when  the  robbers  pointed  their  guns  into 
the  stage  windows  and  orden^d  the  ])assengers  to  surren- 
der their  valuables.  The  brave  young  students  turned 
white  as  sheets,  and,  instead  of  using  their  pistols,  gave 
up  every  thing  demanded,  even  to  their  loose  clothing. 

One  of  the  robbers  remarked  that  it  was  too  bad  to 
rob  the  priest.  Among  the  party  was  a  small  Cas- 
tilian,  who  appeared  to  be  their  leader,  who  said  the 
priests  were  the  very  ones  he  preferred  to  rob,  as  th(^y 
got  their  money  easy  ;  and  he  would  have  no  conscien- 
tious scruples  about  robbing  an  angel  if  he  got  a 
chance.  He  made  the  priest  hand  over  his  money, 
watch,  medal,  and  all  his  clothes,  except  his  shirt  and 
drawers.  The  robbers  espying  the  brandy  bottles, 
drank  up  the  liquor,  and  said  it  was  the  best  part}^  they 
had  struck  for  some  time.  They  then  ordei-ed  me  to 
proceed,  cautioning  me  to  keep  perfect!}'  still  about  tlie 
matter,  or  I  should  forfeit  my  life 

We  then  went  forward,  and  for  several  miles  I  did 
not  hear  a  word  from  my  nearly  naked  passengers. 
When  I  looked  back  on  them  they  were  gazing  into 
each  other's  faces  in  mute  astonishment.     I  ventured 


47G  ROBBEKY   OF   A   MULE   TRAIN. 

finally  to  remark  that  tlieir  feelings  must  have  changed 
somewhat  in  regard  to  guerrillas,  and  politely  asked 
them  why  they  did  not  shoot  the  robbers,  as  I  had 
heard  them  say  they  should  do  if  attacked.  Their  ex- 
cuses were  various ;  but  the  truth  was  they  were  no 
exception  to  the  rule  I  have  found  general,  that  all 
braggarts  are  arrant  cowards  when  danger  overtakes 
them.  On  our  arrival  at  the  end  of  my  route,  I  was 
obliged  to  drive  the  stage  to  the  rear  of  the  stage  house 
to  enable  the  passengers  to  reach  a  room  by  a  private 
way  so  they  could  procure  some  clothing  before  ap- 
pearing in  public. 

The  same  evening  I  met  some  of  the  party  of  robbers 
in  the  billiard  room  of  the  hotel.  They  sjooke  to  me, 
asking  if  I  v/anted  any  money,  offering  me  jDlenty  if  I 
would  accept ;  saying,  that  if  I  kept  quiet  all  would 
be  well,  but  otherwise  I  should  be  assassinated  forth- 
with. I  refused  to  take  any  of  their  ill-gotten  gains  ; 
but  not  wishing  to  offend  them,  I  excused  myself  by 
telling  them  I  was  well  supplied. 

A  sliort  time  after  this  a  conductor  of  a  mule  tmin 
started  from  Zacatecas  for  Tampico  with  half  a  million 
dollars  worth  of  silver,  having  a  large  escort  to  guard 
the  treasure.  When  about  fifty  miles  from  Zacatecas, 
they  were  attacked  by  one  hundred  and  sixty- five  rob- 
bers, and  during  the  fight  eleven  of  the  troops  of  the 
escort  and  seven  of  the  robbers  were  killed.  The 
troops  were  defea^ted  and  escaped,  but  sent  back  to 
Zacatecas  for  assistance.  Tlie  silver  was  packed  on 
mules  and  the  robbers  started  the  train  for  the  moun- 
tains to  secure  the  treasure.  About  five  hundred  cav- 
alry were  despatched  from  Zacatecas  to  overtak(3  the 
robbers,  and  recover  possession  of  the  train.  When 
the  troops  came  in  sight  of  the  robbers  they  found  them 


ENGLISHMEN    IN   DANGER.  477 

halted  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  When  they  saw 
the  cavalry  in  pursuit  they  cut  open  a  part  of  tlie  sil- 
ver sacks  and  scattered  it  over  the  ground,  then  hur- 
ried up  the  mountain  side,  fleeing  in  all  directions. 
As  the  troops  came  to  the  silver  strewn  on  tlie  ground, 
tlu'y  dismounted  from  their  horses  and  commenced  a 
general  scramble  to  gather  it  up,  thus  giving  time  for 
the  robbers  to  get  away  witli  most  of  the  treasure.  Be- 
fore the  officers  could  rally  the  troops,  the  robbers  had 
arranged  for  their  defense  in  a  narrow  pass  in  the  moun- 
tains, where  they  resisted  the  advance  of  the  cavalry 
successfully,  obliging  them  to  give  up  the  chase  and 
return  without  the  silver  they  had  saved,  and  it  was 
never  recovered. 

The  stage  I  drove  was  attacked  a  second  time  on  the 
route  in  a  secluded,  desolate  spot,  by  a  dozen  or  more 
robbers.  In  the  stage  were  nine  Englishmen,  with  sev- 
eral thousand  dollars  in  their  possession.  They  were 
well  armed,  with  guns  and  pistols,  and  when  the  rob- 
bers appeared  and  ordered  me  to  halt,  with  their  guns 
pointed  towards  me,  I  held  up ;  but  the  Englishmen 
told  me  to  drive  on  or  they  would  shoot  me,  which 
placed  me  in  no  enviable  position.  I  kept  on  till  the 
one  of  the  lead  horses  was  shot,  which  so  entangled 
the  team  that  I  was  obliged  to  stop,  and  one  ball  pene- 
trated the  rubber  cloth  in  front  of  m(%  doing  no  other 
damage.  The  Englishmen  noAV  jumped  froju  the 
stage,  shot  one  robber  dead,  wound(Hl  another,  and 
'killed  or  disabled  two  of  their  horses  ;  after  this  warm 
reception  the  robbers  fled  in  haste.  I  could  not  help 
noticing  how  differently  thos<'  Englishmen  conducted 
themselves  in  danger,  from  the  way  the  bragging  :Mex- 
icans  had  done,  when  my  stage  was  attacked  on  a  for- 
mer occasion.     I  had  heard  them  make  no  boasts  of 


478  A   CONFESSION. 

what  they  would  do  if  attacked,  nor  express  any  de- 
sire to  see  the  band  that  would  dare  attack  them  ;  but 
although  they  said  little,  when  the  time  came,  they 
acted. 

The  Englishmen  took  the  wounded  man  prisoner, 
mid  prepared  to  hang  him  if  he  did  hot  confess  who 
his  companions  were.  He  was  drawn  up  three  times 
before  he  would  make  any  confession.  He  finally  said 
the  whole  band  was  composed  of  more  than  a  hundred 
men,  giving  many  of  their  names.  We  took  him  along 
to  the  next  station  and  handed  him  over  to  the  authori- 
ties, who  sent  him  back  to  Zacatecas.  He  confessed 
that  the  chief  clerk  of  the  stage  route  was  one  of  their 
party,  and  had  kept  the  band  posted  in  regard  to  the 
shijjment  of  valuables,  or  the  transit  of  money.  After 
the  arrest  of  this  wounded  man  the  clerk  suddenly  dis- 
appeared with  about  sixty  thousand  dollars  wdiich  was 
in  the  stage  liouse. 

The  wounded  man  made  these  confessions  on  condi- 
tion of  his  life  being  spared.  His  arm  was  amputated 
and  good  medical  attendance  secured.  He  told  of 
money  buried  in  different  places.  In  an  old  mine  was 
found  a  sack  containing  ten  thousand  dollars,  which 
was  let  down  the  shaft  by  a  rope.  He  informed  us  of 
a  house  in  Zacatecas,  where  was  found  a  large  quanti- 
ty of  plunder,  such  as  clotliing,  watches,  jewelry,  sad- 
dles, blankets,  &c.,  which  the  gang  liad  there  secreted, 
the  house  being  in  the  outskirts  of  the  city,  and  the 
front  part  used  as  a  drinking  saloon  kept  by  one  of 
tlieir  party.  The  authorities  took  this  property  and 
hung  the  keeper  of  the  den  with  a  number  of  his  con- 
federates. I  now  resigned  my  occupation  of  stage  dri- 
ver, telling  the  company  tliat  it  was  too  dangerous  to 
suit  me.     They  tried  to  have  me  continue,  offering  me 


A  THIEVING   COMMUNITY.  479 

large  pay  ;  but  I  positively  refused  to  stay  longer. 
When  the  wounded  man  had  recovered  from  his  ampu- 
tation, tlie  first  time  he  ventured  into  the  street  Ik,'  was 
assassinated  by  one  of  his  old  companions. 

From  the  wild,  rough  nature  of  some  of  the  moun- 
Uiin  districts  east  of  Zacatecas,  it  is  easy  for  organized 
bands  of  robbers  to  secrete  all  the  booty  they  can  cap- 
ture, and  many  a  train  of  mules,  loaded  with  silver, 
Iioni  the  mines  in  the  interior,  has  been  waylaid  and 
robbed  on  its  way  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  or  to  the 
coast. 

There  was  a  little  mountain  village  called  Xerez  to 
the  west  of  Zacatecas,  where  the  inhabitants,  almost  to 
a  man,  including  the  priest,  were  concerned  in  rob- 
bery or  in  the  concealment  of  stolen  property,  and  got 
their  living  by  this  means.  Nature  had  furnished  them 
with  admirable  facilities  for  defense,  as  the  only  ap- 
proach to  the  village  was  by  a  narrow,  crooked  path 
or  trail,  running  in  some  places  directly  under  ledges 
of  rock,  towering  above  hundreds  of  feet,  so  that  the 
roadway  was  easily  obstructed  ;  and  if  a  party  persist- 
ed in  pursuit,  they  could  roll  down  heavy  rocks  upon 
their  pursuers.  A  party  of  soldiers  who  were  once 
following  a  band  of  robbers  through  this  narrow  pass 
were  almost  annihilated  by  the  masses  of  rock  which 
came  crashing  down  from  the  heights  above. 

At  one  time,  whil(3  in  the  (^mploy  of  an  English  min- 
ing company  at  Durango,  I  came  near  losing  my  life  by 
the  treachery  of  supposed  friends.  I  had  been  sent  in 
charge  of  a  pack  train,  with  an  escort  composed  of  a 
"Mexican  sergeant  and  fifteen  soldiers,  to  one  of  tlu^ 
company's  mines  at  Guadaloupe-y-Calvo,  to  bring  in 
seventy -live  thousand  dollars  worth  of  metal.  When 
we  were  ready  to  start  on  our  return  trip,  a  party  of 


480  ATTEMPTED     TKKACHEKf. 

English  and  American  miners  who  were  about  to  leave 
the  mines  for  Durango,  proposed  to  accompany  me. 
To  this  arrangement  I  consented,  after  having  ascer- 
tained that  they  were  honest  men.  When  we  had  ac- 
complished about  half  the  distance,  and  were  en- 
camped for  the  night,  a  Mexican  boy,  who  acted  as  my 
servant,  warned  me  privately  of  a  plot  between  the 
sergeant  and  the  troops  to  kill  me  and  the  English  and 
Americans,  with  a  view  of  stealing  the  treasure.  I  im- 
mediately informed  the  English  and  Americans  (who 
were  all  armed, )  tliat  our  lives  were  in  danger  from  a 
set  of  vagabond  traitors,  who  had  conspired  against  us, 
and  asked  if  they  would  assist  me  in  conquering  them, 
to  which  they  readily  consented. 

The  soldiers  were  at  some  distance  from  us,  cooking 
supper,  with  their  guns  stacked  ;  and  we  approached 
them  familiarly,  in  such  a  way  that  their  suspicions 
were  not  excited,  till  they  saw  us  surround  the  stacks 
of  arms,  and  then  it  was  too  late.  We  fired  into  them, 
killing  two,  when  we  secured  and  bound  the  others, 
hand  and  foot.  We  then  sent  the  boy  to  a  mining 
town,  ten  miles  distant,  for  help.  The  magistrate  came 
with  twenty -five  men  to  our  assistance,  and  sent  the 
train  forward  under  their  protection  to  Durango. 
When  we  arrived  with  our  prisoners  they  were  tried, 
and  tlie  sergeant  and  corporal  were  hung,  the  others 
being  sentcenced  to  labor  on  the  streets  five  years,  with 
ball  and  chain  attached  to  their  ankles.  The  Mexican 
boy  told  the  truth,  for  they  confessed  their  crime,  and 
he  was  rewarded  by  the  company  with  a  present  of 
five  hundred  dollars. 

I  was  sent  at  another  time  to  one  of  the  company's 
mines  at  Bueno  Sara,  Avith  a  pack  train  of  ten  mules, 
besides  seven  mounted  friends  to  assist  me  and  for  pro- 


A    NOVEL    BARRICADE.  481 

tection.  Our  business  was  to  get  an  Englisli  lady  and 
her  daughter,  witli  tiieir  baggage,  and  luring  them  to 
Durango,  where  her  husband  was  awaiting  her.  On 
our  return  from  tlie  mine  to  Durango,  while  we  were 
crossing  a  phiin,  where  there  was  no  shelter  of  any  kind 
for  the  ladies,  we  were  attacked  by  about  forty 
Apaches.  We  saw  the  Indians  coming  towards  us, 
wlien  they  were  quite  a  distance  away,  and,  as  we  had 
no  natural  shelter,  it  became  necessary  to  devise  an  ar- 
tificial one.  The  baggage  was  hastily  removed  from 
the  mules,  when  they  were  cast  and  their  feet  securely 
tied.  This  served  a  double  purpose,  as  it  effectually 
prevented  a  stampede  and  enabled  us  to  use  them  for 
purposes  of  shelter.  The  cast  mules  and  baggage  were 
arranged  in  a  circle,  within  which  we  placed  ourselves, 
and  behind  this  novel  breastwork  w(^  awaited  the  at- 
tack of  the  Indians.  When  they  charged  upon  us, 
they  were  entirely  exposed  to  our  fire,  while  we,  by 
keeping  close  to  the  mules  and  baggage,  could  not  be 
harmed  by  their  arrows.  AYhen  they  came  within 
range,  we  opened  fire  on  them,  and  killed  several,  be- 
side wounding  some  of  their  animals,  when  they  re- 
treated, carrying  their  dead  and  wounded  Avith  them. 
None  of  our  party  were  injured,  but  we  had  two  mules 
killed.  Our  singular  breastwork  had  saved  our  lives, 
and  we  resumed  our  journey  and  arrived  safely  at 
Durango. 

The  lady's  husband,  Mr.  Mclntire,  gave  us  a  hearty 
reception,  and  was  much  astonished  to  hear  of  our 
perilous  adventure  with  the  Indians.  lie  said  he  never 
would  have  thought  of  such  a  means  of  d(?fense,  and  I 
hardly  think  he  would,  for  he  was  an  assayer  at  the 
mint  and  did  not  know  anything  about  fighting  In- 
dians ;  but  he  did  know  how  to  order  a  sjjlendid  sup- 


482  COIVUC  BULL    FionTS. 

per  for  us,  and  lie  afterwards  made  me  a  present  of  five 
hundred  dollars,  saying  he  considered  he  was  indebted 
to  me  for  the  preservation  of  the  lives  of  his  wife  and 
daughter. 

At  the  annual  fair  at  San  Juan  de  los  Lagos,  which 
I  attended  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1841,  (see  page 
78,  where  the  place  is  called  !San  Juan,)  among  the  va- 
rious amusements  were  several  bull-fights,  some  of 
which  were  very  ludicrous,  and  as  I  am  not  aware  that 
they  have  ever  been  mentioned  in  any  book  of  travel, 
I  will  give  a  description  of  one  of  them  here.  In  the 
center  of  the  arena  a  greased  pole  was  erected,  the  top 
of  which  was  crowned  with  sundry  prizes  of  money 
and  clothing,  very  tempting  to  the  poorer  "Greasers" 
who  were  Avelcome  to  take  them  down,  while  at  the 
same  time  a  wild  bull  was  at  liberty  to  enjoy  himself 
in  the  arena  by  knocking  them  down.  A  considerable 
number  of  Mexicans  went  for  the  coveted  goods,  and 
the  bull,  as  was  his  privilege,  went  for  them.  Some- 
times the  "Greasers"  would  succeed,  by  clustering 
around  the  pole  and  climbing  upon  each  others'  shoul- 
ders, in  nearly  reaching  the  prizes,  when  the  bull  would 
make  a  wild  rush  at  the  lower  strata  of  struggling  hu- 
manity, and  knocking  out  the  under  pinning,  of  course 
the  superstructure  would  descend  with  considerable 
more  celerity  than  comfort,  amid  roars  of  laughter 
from  the  audience.  By  perseverance  under  difficul- 
ties, however,  the  top  of  the  pole  was  at  last  reached 
by  one  of  the  contestants,  and  stripped  of  the  prizes. 

The  last  bull  that  was  brought  into  the  ring  had  his 
horns  sawed  off*,  or  blunted,  and  a  string  of  silver  coin 
upon  a  strong  wire  was  fastened  from  one  horn  to  the 
other,  and  anybody  who  chose  and  was  smart  enough 
could  "  take  the  bull  by  the  horns  "  and  help  himself 


FTGIIT   WITH   A   GIUZZLY.  483 

to  the  moiioy.  Of  course  tlie  aiiiinal  objected  to  liav- 
ing  any  liberties  taken  with  liis  head,  and  treated  liis 
persecutors  with  divers  and  sundry  "horns"  which 
"elevated"  many  of  them  in  a  surprising  nianni^r. 
Finally,  by  persistent  worrying,  they  succeeded  in  get- 
ting hold  of  him  in  sufficient  numbers  to  throw  him 
down,  and  when  the  wire  was  wrested  from  his  horns 
a  funny  scramble  ensued  for  the  possession  of  the 
money.  All  hands  let  go  of  the  bull  for  that  pui-pose, 
who  regained  his  feet,  and  smarting  under  the  indigni- 
ties which  had  been  heaped  upon  him,  executed  sundry 
bull-rushes  among  the  struggling  crowd,  knocking 
them  right  and  left,  and  giving  the  Mexican  silver  a 
remarkably  lively  circulation.  This  was  a  rather 
rough  sport,  but  was  highly  enjoyed  by  the  spec- 
tators. 

At  another  time  I  was  in  New  Mexico,  stopping  at 
the  foot  of  the  Taos  Mountain,  hunting  with  a  party  all 
through  the  mountains  for  game.  AVe  had  man}'  ad- 
ventures with  bears,  and  one  day  I  come  near  losing  my 
life  by  a  grizzly.  I  had  shot  a  small  deer  and  a  Avild 
turkey,  and  was  proceeding  to  camj),  when  ni}'  favorite 
dog,  which  I  had  owned  for  some  months,  scented 
game  in  another  direction  and  started  for  it.  I  followed 
him,  and  soon  discovered  two  small  bear  cubs,  which  I 
foolishly  lired  on,  without  noticing  the  old  she  bear, 
which  was  close  by.  I  wounded  one  of  the  cubs,  when 
it  commenced  to  cry,  and  lli.^  old  one  was  upon  me  be- 
fore I  could  reload  my  rille.  In  the  tussle  which  en- 
sued, she  struck  me  on  the  left  leg,  just  at  the  knee. 
I  had  on  a  pair  of  strong  buckskin  jxints,  but  her 
claws  penetrated  them  and  tore  the  tougli  leather-like 
cotton  to  the  bottom  of  the  leg,  at  the  same  time  t<\ar- 
ing  my  knee  fearfully.     All  that  saved  me  A\as  my  dog, 


484  A   PET   BEAR. 

who  attacked  the  bear  in  tlie  rear,  when  she  turned 
around  quickly  and  caught  the  dog,  and  nearly 
squeezed  him  to  death.  While  the  bear  was  thus  en- 
gaged, I  drew  my  tomahawk  from  my  belt  and  settled 
it  deep  in  her  brains,  killing  her  just  in  time  to  save 
tha  dog.  The  wounded  cub  I  then  despatched,  and 
rolling  the  other  in  my  hunting  shirt,  I  made  my  way 
to  camp,  carrying  him  safely  home. 

I  succeeded  in  taming  this  cub,  and  in  time  he  be- 
came a  great  pet,  and  was  a  general  favorite  with  the 
hunters.     As  he  grew  up  he  showed  remarkable  intel- 
ligence and  aptitude  for  tricks.     I  taught  him  to  wrestle 
with  me,  and  sit  up  at  my  order  ;  and  he  and  my  dog 
soon  grew  to  be  great  friends,  playing  together  by  the 
hour  ;  but  he  would  never  tolerate  any  other  dog  near 
him,  and  once  he  split  open  the  head  of  a  strange  dog 
who  attempted  to  be  too  familiar  with  him.     He  would 
frequently  accompany  me  and  the  dog  on  hunting  ex- 
peditions ;  but  as  he  was  fat  he  had  to  lag  in  the  rear, 
going  out,  but  when  we  turned  toward  home  he  would 
take  the  lead  and  keep  it.     On  one  such  occasion  I  had 
become  interested  in  the  pursuit  of  game,  and  did  not 
realize  how  late  it  was  till  it  began  to  grow  dark,  when 
I  found  I  was  a  long  way  from  home.     I  started  to  re- 
trace my  steps,  but  it  was  soon  so  dark  I  could  not  dis- 
cern the  landmarks,  and  I  commenced  preparations  for 
camping  out  till  morning.     I  noticed  the  bear  appeared 
very  uneasy,  going    a  short   distance   toward  home, 
looking  back,  and  then  coming  up  to  me.     After  this 
had  been  several  times  repeated,  I  decided  to  follow 
him,  when  he  started  in  the  direction  of  home,  and 
continued  his  course,  without  the  least  hesitation,  till 
he  brought  me  there,  apparently  knowing  the  way  as 
well  in  that  pitchy  darkness  as  by  daylight.     I  called 


A   CALIFORNIA  LIOX.  485 

him  "Cuff,"  and  ho  knew  and  would  answer  to  liis 
name  as  well  as  any  dog.  I  finally  sold  him  for  nintj- 
ty-five  dollars  to  Bensler  &  Kelly's  circus,  which  was 
traveling  through  New  Mexico. 

A  few  months  afterwards  I  lost  my  noble  dog  in  a 
fight  Avith  a  species  of  panther,  or  what  is  called  in 
that  country  a  California  lion.  This  animal  is  not 
more  than  half  the  size  of  an  African  lion,  but  resem- 
bles it  very  much  in  some  respects,  the  head  and  neck 
being  shaggy  and  large  and  the  body  tapering  small 
towards  the  tail ;  it  has  also  the  same  long  claws  and 
great  strength  of  limb. 

I  had  become  known  all  around  Santa  Fe  as  having 
been  successful  in  several  encounters  with  bc^ars  and 
other  wild  animals,  and  one  day  I  had  an  invitation 
from  a  stock  raiser  to  go  with  him  to  his  ranclie,  some 
thirty  mih^s  from  Santa  Fe  to  track,  and  kill,  if  jiossi- 
ble,  a  California  lion  that  had  been  destroying  his 
small  stock.  I  took  along  my  dog,  who  was  afraid  of 
nothing,  and  very  keen  scented.  After  our  arrival  at 
the  place,  I  had  to  wait  several  da}' s  for  the  panther  to 
make  his  appearance  so  as  to  enable  me  to  g(^t  a  fresh 
trail.  Finally  he  was  seen  early  one  morning  in  a  pas- 
ture eating  a  small  colt  which  he  had  killed,  ^fy  dog 
was  uncommonly  large,  and  alwaj's  ready  for  a  fight, 
so  in  company  with  several  friends,  who  followed  with 
rifles  to  see  the  sport,  the  dog  led  the  way,  with  me  in 
close  pursuit.  The  animal  after  eating  all  he  could  of 
the  colt,  had  retired  a  few  hundred  yards  to  the  brush, 
where  he  had  lain  down  to  sleep,  and  was  awakened  by 
the  approach  of  tiie  dog  who  was  ready  to  sj^i-ing  on 
him.  On  seeing  us  so  near,  the  savage  brute  under- 
took to  escape,  by  climbing  a  tree  ;  but  the  dog  caught 
him  by  the  leg,  and  they  rolled  over  on  the  ground, 


486  DEATH    OF   MY   DOG. 

biting  and  tearing  each  other  terribly,  the  dog  having 
a  firm  hold  upon  the  panther' s  neck.  At  last  the  dog' s 
side  was  torn  open  by  the  long  claws  of  the  animal, 
just  as  I  fired  a  charge  into  the  head  of  the  infuriated 
panther,  which  was  a  lucky  shot,  as  he  was  just  ready 
to  turn  upon  me. 

The  poor  dog  was  too  far  gone  for  me  to  save  him.  I 
bound  up  his  wounds  as  well  as  I  could,  and  carried 
him  back  to  the  ranche,  but  he  lived  only  a  few  mo- 
ments after  reaching  it.  The  neighborhood  generally 
turned  out  to  see  the  carcass  of  the  animal  I  had  shot, 
and  sympathized  with  me  in  the  loss  of  so  noble  a  dog. 
After  giving  him  a  decent  burial  and  receiving  se'^enty- 
five  dollars  for  my  job,  I  returned  to  Santa  Fe,  feeling 
thankful  for  the  preservation  of  my  life,  but  gloomy  at 
parting  from  the  dog.  In  our  hunting  expeditions 
after  this  the  dog  was  very  much  missed,  as  it  was  very 
unusual  to  find  one  that  would  attack  as  ferocious  ani- 
mals as  he  would. 

At  one  time  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  win  a  small 
bet  and  rid  a  mining  village  of  a  bore,  at  tlie  same 
time.  There  was  in  this  village,  as  is  usually  the  case, 
a  small  store,  where  the  miners  would  get  together  af- 
ter their  day' s  work  was  over,  and  exchange  stories 
and  items  of  interest  with  each  other.  One  of  these 
parties  was  always  talking  of  ghosts,  and  their  appear- 
ance to  men.  I  became  tired  of  so  much  in  the  same 
strain  from  him,  and  d(  terinined  to  put  a  stop  to  his 
ridiculous  talk.  So  one  night,  when  he  was  in  the 
midst  of  one  of  his  tales,  I  very  abruptly  told  him 
I  did  not  believe  his  statement,  nor  in  ghosts  at  all. 
Tliis,  it  appeared  afterwards,  was  just  the  statement 
he  had  been  trying  to  get  some  one  to  make.  So  he 
appeared  quite  indignant  at  having  his  word  doubt- 


A    GHOST.  487 

ed,  and  offered  to  bet  me  live  dollars  that  I  could  not 
walk  around  an  old  graveyard,  which  was  back  from 
the  store  some  distance,  without  seeing  a  ghost  and 
runnin^t;-  from  it.  It  was  a  dark  night,  ])ut  I  concluded 
to  acc('})t  his  wager,  and,  staking  our  UKjuey,  I  started 
alone  on  my  wallv,  with  a  man  following  some  distance 
in  the  rear  to  see  th(3  result  and  note  whetlier  I  made  a 
circuit  of  the  haunted  yard.  I  secured  a  good  cudgel 
at  the  start,  and  when  about  half  way  around  the  yard 
the  ghost,  sure  enough,  made  his  appearance.  I 
stalked  boldly  up  to  it  and  pounded  away  till  I  made 
it  cry  murder  and  everything  els(!  calculated  to  bring 
assistance,  till  the  arrival  of  help,  when  a  lantern  re- 
vealed the  countfMiance  of  the  man  I  had  bet  with. 
After  giving  him  an  extra  blow  or  two  I  let  him  go, 
cautioning  liim  to  leave  the  place  for  good,  or  stop  his 
ghost  yarns.  It  cured  him  effectually  of  his  attempts 
to  sell  people,  and  made  him  quit  the  neighborhood  as 
soon  as  he  got  over  his  bruises. 


COIsrCLTJSIOK. 

IN  the  foregoing  pages  I  have  endeavored  to  give  an 
account  of  a  portion  of  my  adventures  in  a  life  of 
more  than  usual  peril  and  excitement.  I  was  induced 
to  publish  this  account  by  the  earnest  recommendation 
of  many  friends.  It  has  been  written  out,  as  I  have 
had  time,  entirely  from  memory,  as  I  never  kept  a 
diary  of  events,  never  thinking  that  I  should  publish 
my  experiences.  For  this  reason,  I  have  been  unable 
to  give  exact  dates  in  all  cases  ;  but  as  the  object  I  had 
in  view,  was  not  to  publish  a  history  of  the  country 
where  I  have  been,  but  to  relate  personal  adventures, 
this  will  not  prove,  I  hope,  any  drawback  to  the  inter- 
est of  the  reader.  As  far  as  the  narrative  relates  to  my 
transactions,    I    have  confined  myself   to  the  literal 

facts. 

In  looking  back  over  my  life,  I  find  that  although  I 
have  not,  perhaps,  always  obeyed  the  Golden  Rule, 
yet  it  is  a  great, satisfaction  to  me  to  think  of  the  num- 
bers of  my  fellow  beings  I  have  been  instrumental  in 
saving  from  death  and  misery  at  the  hands  of  savages, 
and  from  the  horrors  of  starvation. 

And  now,  that  my  labors  in  this  direction  are  com- 
pleted, I  shall  probably  retire  to  my  California  home, 
and  devote  myself  to  stock  raising.  Hoping  tliat  this 
narrative  may  prove  of  interest  to  the  reader,  I  will  say 

— GOOD-BYE. 


483 


3  1158  00933  2031 


1- 


lOIJTHfH'.  HfM  j'.AL  .  BRAR'  fACiLf^Y 
llllllllllllllllllll!' 


100  752  377    2 


^;.., 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


flECo 


it>-m 


APR    8 

FEB  1 8 1927 


JTV 


AA    000  752  377    2 


